What is it about?
This review presents an overview of poly(hydroxyalkanoates), addressing alternative carbon sources as substrates for their synthesis, and a description of analytical and extraction methods applied to recover and characterize this biopolymer. Studies have focused on prospecting alternative carbon sources, such as agro-industrial residues to reduce the production cost to make PHAs more commercially competitive.
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Why is it important?
The scientific industrial prominence of PHAs is due to their characteristics, such as thermoplasticity, biodegradability, non-toxicity, and biocompatibility. This versatility makes these biopolymers potential candidates for industrial, pharmaceutical, biomedical, and food packaging applications. Despite these advantages, the commercialization of PHA on a large scale is restricted by its high production cost compared to petroleum-based plastics.
Perspectives
For its global commercial use, cheaper carbon sources are required to reduce its production cost, which has promoted the agro-industrial residue prospection as an alternative carbon source for its production by fermentation. Studies have also focused on the search for producing microorganisms capable of metabolizing these residues. These aspects made writing this review article pleasurable, associated with the collaborators' interest and the exchange of ideas. Also, this type of publication shows the reader a profile of world scientific development, opening perspectives for studies and collaborations.
Dr. Jorge A. López
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: Polyhydroxyalkanoates: Biosynthesis from Alternative Carbon Sources and Analytic Methods: A Short Review, Journal of Polymers and the Environment, February 2022, Springer Science + Business Media,
DOI: 10.1007/s10924-022-02403-7.
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