Anselmi Silvia, Ni Yeke, Tonoli Alessia, Wu Jingyue, Wang Yu, Prout Luba, Miodownik Mark, Jeffries Jack W E, Hailes Helen C
Department of Chemistry, University College London 20 Gordon Street London WC1H 0AJ UK
UCL Plastic Waste Innovation Hub, University College London 90 Tottenham Court Road W1T 4TJ London UK.
Green Chem. 2025 Sep 4. doi: 10.1039/d5gc03560k.
The enzymatic molecular recycling of plastics is of increasing interest, where polymers are converted into monomers for reuse or upcycled into value added chemicals. Polyurethanes are an important class of synthetic hydrolysable polymers found in textiles as an elastane component, also known as lycra and spandex, with most post-consumer waste currently disposed of in landfill. Here we have identified three active novel urethane hydrolytic enzymes from a drain metagenome able to breakdown methylenedianiline-based elastane model substrates. In addition, we have established a new colorimetric assay, suitable for high-throughput applications using tyrosinases. For the urethanases identified, the reaction conditions and substrate scope were explored. Finally, the urethanases and assay were used with commercial fabrics, demonstrating breakdown of the polymer.
塑料的酶促分子循环利用越来越受到关注，其中聚合物被转化为单体以供再利用或升级转化为高附加值化学品。聚氨酯是一类重要的合成可水解聚合物，作为氨纶成分存在于纺织品中，也称为莱卡和氨纶，目前大多数消费后废料都被填埋处理。在这里，我们从下水道宏基因组中鉴定出三种活性新型聚氨酯水解酶，它们能够分解基于亚甲基二苯胺的氨纶模型底物。此外，我们建立了一种新的比色测定法，适用于使用酪氨酸酶的高通量应用。对于鉴定出的聚氨酯酶，探索了反应条件和底物范围。最后，将聚氨酯酶和测定法用于商业织物，证明了聚合物的分解。
