Natural diversity screening, assay development, and characterization of nylon-6 enzymatic depolymerization.

ABSTRACT: Successes in biocatalytic polyester recycling have raised the possibility of deconstructing alternative polymers enzymatically, with polyamide (PA) being a logical target due to the array of amide-cleaving enzymes present in nature. Here, we screen 40 potential natural and engineered nylon-hydrolyzing enzymes (nylonases), using mass spectrometry to quantify eight compounds resulting from enzymatic nylon-6 (PA6) hydrolysis. Comparative time-course reactions incubated at 40-70 °C showcase enzyme-dependent variations in product distributions and extent of PA6 film depolymerization, with significant nylon deconstruction activity appearing rare. The most active nylonase, a NylC_K variant we rationally thermostabilized (an N-terminal nucleophile (Ntn) hydrolase, NylC_K-TS, T<

SUBMITTER: Bell EL 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10858056 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature