Improving the binding affinity of plastic degrading cutinase with polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and polyurethane (PU); an in-silico study.

ABSTRACT: Plastic pollution is a worrying problem, and its degradation is a laborious process. Although enzymatic plastic breakdown is a sustainable method, drawbacks such as numerous plastic kinds of waste make the degradation challenging. Therefore, a multi-plastic degrading (MPD) enzyme becomes necessary. In this in-silico study, microorganisms and their enzymes that are known to degrade plastic polymers such as PET, PU, PVC, and PE were identified to assess their MPD capability. The cutinase of Thermobifida fusca was found to degrade both PET and PU polymers. The crystallized structure of cutinase was retrieved from PDB, and PET, PU ligands were docked using Schrodinger. However, the interactions between cutinase and the ligands were not efficient, as evidenced by the docking score

SUBMITTER: Sabari V L D 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11773079 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature