(Press-News.org) 'Bioplastics' that are naturally synthesized by microbes could be made commercially viable by using waste cooking oil as a starting material. This would reduce environmental contamination and also give high-quality plastics suitable for medical implants, according to scientists presenting their work at the Society for General Microbiology's Autumn Conference at the University of Warwick.
The Polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA) family of polyesters is synthesized by a wide variety of bacteria as an energy source when their carbon supply is plentiful. Poly 3-hydroxybutyrate (PHB) is the most commonly produced polymer in the PHA family. Currently, growing bacteria in large fermenters to produce high quantities of this bioplastic is expensive because glucose is used as a starting material.
Work by a research team at the University of Wolverhampton suggests that using waste cooking oil as a starting material reduces production costs of the plastic. "Our bioplastic-producing bacterium, Ralstonia eutropha H16, grew much better in oil over 48 hours and consequently produced three times more PHB than when it was grown in glucose," explained Victor Irorere who carried out the research. "Electrospinning experiments, performed in collaboration with researchers from the University of Birmingham, showed that nanofibres of the plastic produced from oils were also less crystalline, which means the plastic is more suited to medical applications."
Previous research has shown that PHB is an attractive polymer for use as a microcapsule for effective drug delivery in cancer therapy and also as medical implants, due to its biodegradability and non-toxic properties. Improved quality of PHB combined with low production costs would enable it to be used more widely.
The disposal of used plastics - which are largely non-biodegradable - is a major environmental issue. Plastic waste on UK beaches has been steadily increasing over the past two decades and now accounts for about 60% of marine debris. "The use of biodegradable plastics such as PHB is encouraged to help reduce environmental contamination. Unfortunately the cost of glucose as a starting material has seriously hampered the commercialization of bioplastics," said Dr Iza Radecka who is leading the research. "Using waste cooking oil is a double benefit for the environment as it enables the production of bioplastics but also reduces environmental contamination caused by disposal of waste oil."
The next challenge for the group is to do appropriate scale-up experiments, to enable the manufacture of bioplastics on an industrial level.
### END
Waste cooking oil makes bioplastics cheaper
2012-09-03
ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:
Heavy drinking rewires brain, increasing susceptibility to anxiety problems
2012-09-03
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – Doctors have long recognized a link between alcoholism and anxiety disorders such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Those who drink heavily are at increased risk for traumatic events like car accidents and domestic violence, but that only partially explains the connection. New research using mice reveals heavy alcohol use actually rewires brain circuitry, making it harder for alcoholics to recover psychologically following a traumatic experience.
"There's a whole spectrum to how people react to a traumatic event," said study author Thomas Kash, ...
NIH-funded researchers restore sense of smell in mice using genetic technique
2012-09-03
Scientists funded by the National Institutes of Health have restored the ability to smell in a mouse model of a human genetic disorder that causes congenital anosmia—the inability to smell from birth. The approach uses gene therapy to regrow cilia, cell structures that are essential for olfactory function.
The study was funded by four parts of NIH: the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communications Disorders (NIDCD), the National Institute on Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK), the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and ...
Anti-HIV drug simulation offers 'realistic' tool to predict drug resistance and viral mutation
2012-09-03
Pooling data from thousands of tests of the antiviral activity of more than 20 commonly used anti-HIV drugs, AIDS experts at Johns Hopkins and Harvard universities have developed what they say is the first accurate computer simulation to explain drug effects. Already, the model clarifies how and why some treatment regimens fail in some patients who lack evidence of drug resistance. Researchers say their model is based on specific drugs, precise doses prescribed, and on "real-world variation" in how well patients follow prescribing instructions.
Johns Hopkins co-senior ...
A new light shed on genetic regulation's role in the predisposition to common diseases
2012-09-03
Genetic disease risk differences between one individual and another are based on complex aetiology. Indeed, they may reflect differences in the genes themselves, or else differences at the heart of the regions involved in the regulation of these same genes.
By gene regulation we mean the decision that the cell makes as to when, where and at what level to activate or suppress the expression of a gene. In theory, two people could thus share a gene that is perfectly identical and yet show differences in their predisposition to a disease due to genetic differences concerning ...
Ancient enzymes function like nanopistons to unwind RNA
2012-09-03
AUSTIN, Texas—Molecular biologists at The University of Texas at Austin have solved one of the mysteries of how double-stranded RNA is remodeled inside cells in both their normal and disease states. The discovery may have implications for treating cancer and viruses in humans.
The research, which was published this week in Nature, found that DEAD-box proteins, which are ancient enzymes found in all forms of life, function as recycling "nanopistons." They use chemical energy to clamp down and pry open RNA strands, thereby enabling the formation of new structures.
"If ...
Design help for drug cocktails
2012-09-03
For years, doctors treating those with HIV have recognized a relationship between how faithfully patients take the drugs they prescribe, and how likely the virus is to develop drug resistance. More recently, research has shown that the relationship between adherence to a drug regimen and resistance is different for each of the drugs that make up the "cocktail" used to control the disease.
New research conducted by Harvard scientists could help explain why those differences exist, and may help doctors quickly and cheaply design new combinations of drugs that are less ...
UCLA researchers discover missing link between stem cells and immune system
2012-09-03
UCLA researchers have discovered a type of cell that is the "missing link" between bone marrow stem cells and all the cells of the human immune system, a finding that will lead to a greater understanding of how a healthy immune system is produced and how disease can lead to poor immune function.
The studies were done using human bone marrow, which contains all the stem cells that produce blood during postnatal life.
"We felt it was especially important to do these studies using human bone marrow as most research into the development of the immune system has used mouse ...
Can't smell anything? This discovery may give you hope
2012-09-03
ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Scientists have restored the sense of smell in mice through gene therapy for the first time -- a hopeful sign for people who can't smell anything from birth or lose it due to disease.
The achievement in curing congenital anosmia -- the medical term for lifelong inability to detect odors -- may also aid research on other conditions that also stem from problems with the cilia. Those tiny hair-shaped structures on the surfaces of cells throughout the body are involved in many diseases, from the kidneys to the eyes.
The new findings, published online ...
Obesity and metabolic syndrome associated with impaired brain function in adolescents
2012-09-03
NEW YORK, September 3, 2012 – A new study by researchers at NYU School of Medicine reveals for the first time that metabolic syndrome (MetS) is associated with cognitive and brain impairments in adolescents and calls for pediatricians to take this into account when considering the early treatment of childhood obesity.
The study, funded by the National Institutes of Health under award number DK083537, and in part by award number 1ULIRR029892, from the National Center for Research Resources, appears online September 3 in Pediatrics.
As childhood obesity has increased ...
There's an app for that: Apple iPod Touch helps adults with autism function in the workplace
2012-09-03
Amsterdam, NL, September 3, 2012 – Only 15% of adults with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in the United States have some form of paid work. Difficulties related to cognition, behavior, communication, and sensory processing can impact their ability to attain and retain employment. Now investigators report the task management and organizational features on personal digital assistants (PDAs) can help people with ASD function more successfully in the workplace. They have published case studies in the Journal of Vocational Rehabilitation demonstrating the use of Apple® iPod ...