Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 15, 2026

Isolation of Native Soil Microorganisms with Potential for Breaking Down Biodegradable Plastic Mulch Films Used in Agriculture
Published on: May 10, 2013
Enzymatic degradation of polyester films by a cutinase-like enzyme from Pseudozyma antarctica: surface plasmon
Yukiko Shinozaki1, Yoshihiro Kikkawa, Shun Sato
1National Institute for Agro-Environmental Sciences, 3-1-3 Kannondai, Tsukuba, Ibaraki, 305-8604, Japan.
Abstract:
Enzymatic degradation of polyester films by a cutinase-like enzyme from Pseudozyma antarctica JCM10317 (PaE) was analyzed by surface plasmon resonance (SPR). The adsorption of PaE and the degradation rate for polyester films were quantitatively monitored by a positive and negative SPR signal shifts, respectively. The decrease in SPR signal and the erosion depth of amorphous poly(L-lactide) (a-PLLA) film measured by atomic force microscopy (AFM) had a linear relationship, and the weight loss was estimated from the AFM data combined with a density of a-PLLA film. Furthermore, SPR sensorgrams for various polyester films showed that degradation rate of poly(ε-caprolactone) and poly(butylene succinate-co-adipate) which contain C6 units was higher than that of other polyesters such as poly(butylene succinate) and a-PLLA. These results suggest that C6 is the preferred chain length as substrates for PaE.
Related Concept Videos
Microbial Bioremediation of Plastics
Biodeterioration
Types of Step-Growth Polymers: Polyesters
Polyesters are commonly prepared from terephthalic acid and ethylene glycol; the crude product is known as poly(ethylene terephthalate) or PET. However, polyesters are synthesized industrially by transesterification of dimethyl terephthalate with ethylene glycol at 150 °C. The two reactants and the polymer...

