Design of Plastic Binding Lytic Polysaccharide Monooxygenases via Modular Engineering.

ABSTRACT: The worldwide accumulation of plastic waste in the environment, along with its lifespan of hundreds of years, represents a serious threat to ecosystems. Enzymatic recycling of plastic waste offers a promising solution, but the high chemical inertness and hydrophobicity of plastics pose several challenges to enzymes. In nature, lytic polysaccharide monooxygenases (LPMOs) can act at the surface of recalcitrant biopolymers, taking advantage of their solvent-exposed active sites and appended carbohydrate-binding modules (CBMs). LPMOs can disrupt the densely packed chains of polysaccharides (e.g., cellulose) by the oxidation of C-H bonds. Given the similarities between these natural and artificial polymers, we aimed here at promoting plastic-binding properties to LPMOs, by swapping their CBM wi

SUBMITTER: Munzone A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11835289 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature