Anselmi, Silvia;
Ni, Yeke;
Tonoli, Alessia;
Wu, Jingyue;
Wang, Yu;
Prout, Luba;
Miodownik, Mark;
... Hailes, Helen C; + view all
(2025)
The discovery of new metagenomic urethanases utilising a novel colorimetric assay for applications in the biodegradation of polyurethanes.
Green Chemistry
10.1039/d5gc03560k.
(In press).
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Abstract
The enzymatic molecular recycling of plastics is of increasing interest, where polymers are converted into monomers for reuse or upcycled into value added chemicals. Polyurethanes are an important class of synthetic hydrolysable polymers found in textiles as an elastane component, also known as lycra and spandex, with most post-consumer waste currently disposed of in landfill. Here we have identified three active novel urethane hydrolytic enzymes from a drain metagenome able to breakdown methylenedianiline-based elastane model substrates. In addition, we have established a new colorimetric assay, suitable for high-throughput applications using tyrosinases. For the urethanases identified, the reaction conditions and substrate scope were explored. Finally, the urethanases and assay were used with commercial fabrics, demonstrating breakdown of the polymer.
| Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Title: | The discovery of new metagenomic urethanases utilising a novel colorimetric assay for applications in the biodegradation of polyurethanes |
| Location: | England |
| Open access status: | An open access version is available from UCL Discovery |
| DOI: | 10.1039/d5gc03560k |
| Publisher version: | https://doi.org/10.1039/d5gc03560k |
| Language: | English |
| Additional information: | This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported Licence, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/. You can use material from this article in other publications without requesting further permissions from the RSC, provided that the correct acknowledgement is given. |
| UCL classification: | UCL UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of Maths and Physical Sciences UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of Engineering Science > Dept of Biochemical Engineering UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of Engineering Science > Dept of Mechanical Engineering UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of Maths and Physical Sciences > Dept of Chemistry |
| URI: | https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10214232 |
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