Although generally considered degradable, many well-known commercially utilized degradable polymers, such as polyesters, originate from nonrenewable petrochemical feedstocks and require harsh chemical degradation conditions. One potential sustainable alternative to petrochemical monomer feedstocks is the utilization of biosynthetic engineering of yeast, fungi, and bacteria to generate bio-derived monomers. Not only is there a growing need for novel biodegradable polymers and monomer feedstock sources, there is also a need for improved scalability associated with controlled polymerization techniques commonly employed to synthesize degradable polymers. One common polymerization technique for the synthesis of degradable polymers is anionic ring opening polymerization (ROP). To this end, flow polymerization was utilized as an automated synthesis technique to translate a ROP reaction from a batch process in a traditional flask to a continuous stream process improving the scalability of polymerizations, allowing for easier translation to commercial application, faster polymerization times, and improved product consistency. Notably, this work takes steps to merge the fields of synthetic biology and polymer chemistry to create a novel class of degradable aromatic polyester materials from bio building blocks. High throughput biosynthesis of derivatives from yeast utilizing the Living Biofoundry at the NSF BioPACIFIC MIP was used to generate monomer precursors that were chemically modified for ROP. This project highlights the design-build-test learn cycle with focus on improving the scalability and sustainably of polymer materials for future generations.

Degradable polymers derived from bioderived monomers

Where thousands of chemistry professionals meet to share ideas and advance scientific and technical knowledge. Spring 2023 abstracts, posters, and presentations will launch at the end of March.

ACS Spring 2023

The official archive and repository for all ACS Meetings & Expositions abstracts and select posters or presentations.