RT Journal Article
T1 Nearly complete depolymerization of untreated post-consumer plastic with an immobilized and reusable PET hydrolase
A1 López Teijeiro, Adrián
A1 Barreiro Piñeiro, Natalia
A1 Eibes González, Gemma María
A1 Martínez Costas, José Manuel
K1 Polyethylene terephthalate (PET)
K1 Plastic biodegradation
K1 Post-consumer PET
K1 PET hydrolase
K1 LCCICCG
K1 Enzyme immobilization
K1 Enzyme reutilization
AB The accumulation of plastics in the environment has become a serious concern for the entire society. In recent years, enzyme-based biodegradation has emerged as a promising and sustainable strategy for the recycling of polyethylene terephthalate (PET), one of the most widely used polyester plastics. However, the translation of these technologies to the industrial field faces several underexplored challenges, including the immobilization and reusability of the biocatalysts. Here, we present the use of IC-Tagging as a novel one-step methodology for the “in cellulo” self-immobilization of the benchmark PET-degrading enzyme LCCICCG in protein nanospheres. The immobilized enzyme showed to be active against soluble substrates and exhibited improved thermal resistance and long-term storage stability, retaining 58 % of relative activity after 3 months at room temperature. Immobilized LCCICCG also demonstrates remarkable reusability, with minor activity loss up to 10 reuse cycles. Most importantly, nearly complete depolymerization (>90 %) of various untreated amorphous post-consumer PET materials was achieved at a wide range of temperatures (50–70 °C) by removing the products and reusing the enzyme repeatedly. Furthermore, reutilization led to almost full degradation of two consecutive batches of post-consumer PET in 6 days, outperforming all immobilized biocatalysts reported at laboratory scale. Overall, IC-Tagging emerges as a promising and versatile platform for the production, immobilization and reutilization of top-performing PET hydrolases, contributing to sustainable management of plastic waste.
PB Elsevier
YR 2025
FD 2025-05-30
LK https://hdl.handle.net/10347/41980
UL https://hdl.handle.net/10347/41980
LA eng
NO Journal of Hazardous Materials Volume 495, 5 September 2025, 138789ls Volume 495, 5 September 2025, 138789
NO This work was supported by the Spanish Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades [Grants PID2022-139720OB-I00, CNS2023-144997 and TED2021-131322B-I00], the Xunta de Galicia [Grant ED431C 2021/29 and Centro de Investigación do Sistema universitario de Galicia accreditation 2023–2027, ED431G 2023/03] and the European Union [European Regional Development Fund – ERDF]. A.L.T is the recipient of a Spanish Ministerio de Universidades FPU-Ph.D. Contract [FPU22/03342]. G. E. belongs to the Galician Competitive Research Group [GRC ED431C 2021/37] and the Cross-disciplinary Research in Environmental Technologies [CRETUS Research Center, ED431G 2023/12].
DS Minerva
RD 30 abr 2026