Enzymatic and microbial biodegradability of poly(ethylene terephthalate) copolymers containing nitrated units

Enzymatic and microbial degradability of poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) and PET copolyesters containing 30 mol% of either 5-nitroisophthalic units (PET 70NI 30) or nitroterephthalic units (PET 70NT 30) was investigated in laboratory cultures. Two commercial fungal lipases, two bacteria from envi...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Polymer degradation and stability 2006-04, Vol.91 (4), p.663-671
Main Authors: Marqués-Calvo, M. Soledad, Cerdà-Cuéllar, Marta, Kint, Darwin P.R., Bou, Jordi J., Muñoz-Guerra, Sebastián
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Applied sciences
Aspergillus niger
Bacterial biodegradation
Chemical reactions and properties
Degradation
Enzymatic biodegradation
Exact sciences and technology
Fungal biodegradation
Nitrated copolyesters
Nitroisophthalate
Nitroterephthalate
Organic polymers
Physicochemistry of polymers
Poly(ethylene terephthalate)
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Summary:Enzymatic and microbial degradability of poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) and PET copolyesters containing 30 mol% of either 5-nitroisophthalic units (PET 70NI 30) or nitroterephthalic units (PET 70NT 30) was investigated in laboratory cultures. Two commercial fungal lipases, two bacteria from environmental isolates, and two collection filamentous fungi were tested. The topography of the polymer surface exposed to degradation was characterized by interferometry–confocal microscopy techniques. Biodegradation was estimated by optical and electron microscopy observation, and gel permeation chromatography. Evidence of biodegradation including roughness enhancement, swelling and decrease of the weight-average molecular weight, was only obtained for the case of PET 70NT 30 cultured with Aspergillus niger. Differences in surface textures were found to be crucial to determine the positive response of this copolyester to biodegradation.
ISSN:0141-3910
1873-2321
DOI:10.1016/j.polymdegradstab.2005.05.014