Search research articles

ABOUT JoVE

Overview Leadership Blog JoVE Help Center

AUTHORS

Publishing Process Editorial Board Scope & Policies Peer Review FAQ Submit

LIBRARIANS

Testimonials Subscriptions Access Resources Library Advisory Board FAQ

RESEARCH

JoVE Journal Methods Collections JoVE Encyclopedia of Experiments Archive

EDUCATION

JoVE Core JoVE Business JoVE Science Education JoVE Lab Manual Faculty Resource Center Faculty Site

Terms & Conditions of Use

Related Concept Videos

Hydrolysis

Hydrolysis

Overview
Hydrolysis is a chemical reaction in which the addition of water breaks down a polymer into its simpler monomer units. For example, peptides break into amino acids, carbohydrates into simple sugars, and DNA into nucleotides. Enzymes often facilitate these processes.
Hydrolysis Reverses Dehydration Synthesis
Complex carbohydrates can be broken down by breaking the bonds between individual sugar units. The reaction breaks a glycosidic bond as water is added to the compound. The...

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by

Same author

Effect of Cation Type on the Isothermal Crystallization of Poly(vinylidene fluoride) Blended in Ionic Liquids with [Eu(tta)<sub>4</sub>]<sup>-</sup> Anion.

The journal of physical chemistry. C, Nanomaterials and interfaces·2026

Same author

Sustainable Production of Poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) Using Eucalyptus Bark: Integration with Green Downstream Processing.

ACS sustainable chemistry & engineering·2026

Same author

Impact of silver nanoparticles on dye conversion and detoxification potential during long-term operation of an aerobic granular sludge sequencing batch reactor for textile wastewater treatment.

Ecotoxicology and environmental safety·2025

Same author

Systems Metabolic Engineering of Genome-Reduced <i>Pseudomonas putida</i> for Efficient Production of Polyhydroxyalkanoate from <i>p</i>-Coumaric Acid.

Journal of agricultural and food chemistry·2025

Same author

Correction: Sherstneva et al. Biodegradable Microparticles for Regenerative Medicine: A State of the Art and Trends to Clinical Application. <i>Polymers</i> 2022, <i>14</i>, 1314.

Polymers·2025

Same author

Biotechnological 2-Phenylethanol Production: Recent Developments.

Molecules (Basel, Switzerland)·2024

Search research articles

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Sep 20, 2025

Scalable Step-by-Step Approach of Sustainable Bioplastic Production from Food Waste

Scalable Step-by-Step Approach of Sustainable Bioplastic Production from Food Waste

Published on: July 18, 2025

Polyhydroxyalkanoates from a Mixed Microbial Culture: Extraction Optimization and Polymer Characterization.

Ana Marta Rodrigues^1,2, Rita Dias Guardão Franca^1,2, Madalena Dionísio³

¹Associate Laboratory i4HB-Institute for Health and Bioeconomy, NOVA School of Science and Technology, NOVA University Lisbon, 2829-516 Caparica, Portugal.

|June 10, 2022

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

This study optimized chemical extraction of polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHA), finding sodium hydroxide and sodium hypochlorite offer efficient biopolymer recovery. These methods improve upon traditional solvent extraction, reducing costs for bioplastic production.

Keywords:

PHA extraction chemical digestion design of experiments polymer properties

More Related Videos

Looking Outwards: Isolation of Cyanobacterial Released Carbohydrate Polymers and Proteins

Looking Outwards: Isolation of Cyanobacterial Released Carbohydrate Polymers and Proteins

Published on: May 27, 2019

Fabricating Superhydrophobic Polymeric Materials for Biomedical Applications

Fabricating Superhydrophobic Polymeric Materials for Biomedical Applications

Published on: August 28, 2015

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Sep 20, 2025

Scalable Step-by-Step Approach of Sustainable Bioplastic Production from Food Waste

Scalable Step-by-Step Approach of Sustainable Bioplastic Production from Food Waste

Published on: July 18, 2025

Looking Outwards: Isolation of Cyanobacterial Released Carbohydrate Polymers and Proteins

Looking Outwards: Isolation of Cyanobacterial Released Carbohydrate Polymers and Proteins

Published on: May 27, 2019

Fabricating Superhydrophobic Polymeric Materials for Biomedical Applications

Fabricating Superhydrophobic Polymeric Materials for Biomedical Applications

Published on: August 28, 2015

Area of Science:

Biotechnology
Polymer Science
Chemical Engineering

Background:

Polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHA) are biodegradable polymers with potential to replace petroleum-based plastics.
High production costs, particularly in downstream processing, hinder widespread commercial adoption of PHA.
Efficient and cost-effective extraction methods are crucial for the economic viability of PHA production.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate and optimize the extraction of poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyvalerate) using sodium hydroxide (NaOH) and sodium hypochlorite (NaClO).
To compare the efficiency of NaOH and NaClO extraction with the benchmark chloroform Soxhlet extraction.
To analyze the impact of intracellular PHA content, biomass concentration, and pre-treatment on extraction performance.

Main Methods:

Pilot-scale extraction of poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyvalerate) from a mixed microbial culture.
Digestion of non-PHA cellular mass using optimized concentrations and times for NaOH and NaClO.
Comparison of PHA purity, recovery, molecular weight, and polydispersity index against Soxhlet extraction.

Main Results:

Optimized NaOH digestion (0.3 M, 4.8 h) yielded ~100% PHA purity and recovery.
Optimized NaClO digestion (9.0%, 3.4 h) achieved ~99% purity and 90% recovery.
Both chemical methods demonstrated comparable or superior PHA recovery to chloroform extraction, with similar polymer characteristics.

Conclusions:

Sodium hydroxide and sodium hypochlorite are effective agents for high-purity PHA extraction with excellent recovery rates.
Optimized chemical digestion offers a cost-effective alternative to solvent-based extraction for PHA.
Further analysis confirmed the robustness of these methods across varying PHA content, biomass concentrations, and pre-treatment conditions.