Jove
Visualize
Contact Us
JoVE
x logofacebook logolinkedin logoyoutube logo
ABOUT JoVE
OverviewLeadershipBlogJoVE Help Center
AUTHORS
Publishing ProcessEditorial BoardScope & PoliciesPeer ReviewFAQSubmit
LIBRARIANS
TestimonialsSubscriptionsAccessResourcesLibrary Advisory BoardFAQ
RESEARCH
JoVE JournalMethods CollectionsJoVE Encyclopedia of ExperimentsArchive
EDUCATION
JoVE CoreJoVE BusinessJoVE Science EducationJoVE Lab ManualFaculty Resource CenterFaculty Site
Terms & Conditions of Use
Privacy Policy
Policies

Related Concept Videos

Types of Step-Growth Polymers: Polyesters01:20

Types of Step-Growth Polymers: Polyesters

2.3K
The introduction of polyesters has brought major development to the textile industry. The wrinkle-free behavior of polyester blends has eliminated the need for starching and ironing clothes.
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...
2.3K
Olefin Metathesis Polymerization: Acyclic Diene Metathesis (ADMET)00:53

Olefin Metathesis Polymerization: Acyclic Diene Metathesis (ADMET)

2.0K
Acyclic diene metathesis polymerization or ADMET polymerization involves cross-metathesis of terminal dienes, such as 1,8-nonadiene, to give linear unsaturated polymer and ethylene. As ADMET is a reversible process, the formed ethylene gas must be removed from the reaction mixture to complete the polymerization process.
Similar to cross-metathesis, ADMET also involves the formation of metallacyclobutane intermediate by [2+2] cycloaddition of one of the double bonds of a terminal diene with...
2.0K
Free-Radical Chain Reaction and Polymerization of Alkenes02:35

Free-Radical Chain Reaction and Polymerization of Alkenes

8.0K
The conversion of alkenes to macromolecules called polymers is a reaction of high commercial importance. The structure of the polymer is defined by a repeating unit, while the terminal groups are considered insignificant. The average degree of polymerization represents the number of repeating units in the polymer molecule and is denoted by the subscript n.
8.0K
Hydrolysis01:15

Hydrolysis

107.0K
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...
107.0K
Olefin Metathesis Polymerization: Overview01:13

Olefin Metathesis Polymerization: Overview

2.2K
Recently, the development of olefin metathesis polymerization advanced the field of polymer synthesis. Simply put, the reorganization of substituents on their double bonds between two olefins in the presence of a catalyst is known as the olefin metathesis reaction. The use of metathesis reaction for polymer synthesis is called olefin metathesis polymerization.
Ruthenium-based Grubbs catalyst is the most commonly used catalyst for olefin metathesis polymerization. Grubbs catalyst consists...
2.2K
Step-Growth Polymerization: Overview01:03

Step-Growth Polymerization: Overview

3.6K
Step-growth or condensation polymerization is a stepwise reaction of bi or multifunctional monomers to form long-chain polymers. As all the monomers are reactive, most of the monomers are consumed at the early stages of the reaction to form small chains of reactive oligomers, which then combine to form long polymer chains in the late stages. Hence, the reaction has to proceed for a long time to achieve high molecular weight polymers.
Many natural and synthetic polymers are produced by...
3.6K

You might also read

Related Articles

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

Sort by
Same author

A fluorescence-activated droplet sorting assay for ultra-high-throughput screening of PET hydrolases based on a pH indicator.

RSC chemical biology·2026
Same author

A green enzymatic route for the biotransformation of naphthalene to phthalic acid.

RSC chemical biology·2026
Same author

Protein Engineering of Tagatose 4-Epimerase for D-Tagatose Production.

Journal of agricultural and food chemistry·2025
Same author

NaOH/urea aqueous solution facilitates spectroscopic quantitation of lignin in corn stalk.

Chemical communications (Cambridge, England)·2025
Same author

Bacteriophage P2-71: a promising therapeutic against multidrug-resistant <i>Proteus mirabilis</i> in urinary tract infections.

Frontiers in veterinary science·2024
Same author

GraKerformer: A Transformer With Graph Kernel for Unsupervised Graph Representation Learning.

IEEE transactions on cybernetics·2024
Same journal

Machine-Learning-Enabled Rapid Evolution of Photoenzymes for the Asymmetric Synthesis of gem-Difluorophosphonates.

Angewandte Chemie (International ed. in English)·2026
Same journal

Sequential H<sub>2</sub>S-Triggered Redox Relay Nanoprobes for Self-Sustained Chem-Illuminating Cascade Photodynamic Therapy.

Angewandte Chemie (International ed. in English)·2026
Same journal

Quantitative Active Hydrogen Modulation via Mastering Interfacial Water Over Single Rare Earth Atom on Copper for NO<sub>3</sub> <sup>-</sup>-to-NH<sub>3</sub> Electroreduction.

Angewandte Chemie (International ed. in English)·2026
Same journal

Unveiling the Role of Hydroxyls on Catalyst Surface in CO<sub>2</sub> Hydrogenation Reaction.

Angewandte Chemie (International ed. in English)·2026
Same journal

Strain-Release Pentafluorosulfanylation of Carbonyl-Containing Disubstituted Bicyclobutanes: A Fortuitous Path to SF<sub>5</sub>-Containing Oxa[2.1.1]bicyclohexanes.

Angewandte Chemie (International ed. in English)·2026
Same journal

Quantum Spin-1/2 Rings Built From [2]Triangulene Molecular Units.

Angewandte Chemie (International ed. in English)·2026
See all related articles

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Aug 11, 2025

Designed for Molecular Recycling: A Lignin-Derived Semi-aromatic Biobased Polymer
10:22

Designed for Molecular Recycling: A Lignin-Derived Semi-aromatic Biobased Polymer

Published on: November 30, 2020

3.5K

Complete Depolymerization of PET Wastes by an Evolved PET Hydrolase from Directed Evolution.

Lixia Shi1,2,3, Pi Liu2,3, Zijian Tan2,4

  • 1University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, 19A Yuquan Road, Beijing, 100049, China.

Angewandte Chemie (International Ed. in English)
|February 8, 2023
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Researchers developed a new high-throughput screening assay for engineering PETase enzymes. The improved DepoPETase variant efficiently depolymerizes PET waste, showing great potential for industrial plastic recycling.

Keywords:
Directed EvolutionHigh-Throughput ScreeningPET DepolymerizationPETaseThermal Stability

More Related Videos

A New Screening Method for the Directed Evolution of Thermostable Bacteriolytic Enzymes
13:30

A New Screening Method for the Directed Evolution of Thermostable Bacteriolytic Enzymes

Published on: November 7, 2012

18.1K
Techniques for the Evolution of Robust Pentose-fermenting Yeast for Bioconversion of Lignocellulose to Ethanol
14:53

Techniques for the Evolution of Robust Pentose-fermenting Yeast for Bioconversion of Lignocellulose to Ethanol

Published on: October 24, 2016

11.3K

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Aug 11, 2025

Designed for Molecular Recycling: A Lignin-Derived Semi-aromatic Biobased Polymer
10:22

Designed for Molecular Recycling: A Lignin-Derived Semi-aromatic Biobased Polymer

Published on: November 30, 2020

3.5K
A New Screening Method for the Directed Evolution of Thermostable Bacteriolytic Enzymes
13:30

A New Screening Method for the Directed Evolution of Thermostable Bacteriolytic Enzymes

Published on: November 7, 2012

18.1K
Techniques for the Evolution of Robust Pentose-fermenting Yeast for Bioconversion of Lignocellulose to Ethanol
14:53

Techniques for the Evolution of Robust Pentose-fermenting Yeast for Bioconversion of Lignocellulose to Ethanol

Published on: October 24, 2016

11.3K

Area of Science:

  • Biotechnology
  • Enzyme Engineering
  • Polymer Science

Background:

  • Polyethylene terephthalate (PET) is a widely used plastic with limited recycling options.
  • PETase enzymes show promise for PET depolymerization, but engineering efforts are hindered by a lack of efficient screening methods.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To develop a novel high-throughput screening assay for PET hydrolases.
  • To engineer a more efficient PETase variant for enhanced PET depolymerization.

Main Methods:

  • A fluorescence-based high-throughput screening assay was developed using a new substrate, bis(2-hydroxyethyl) 2-hydroxyterephthalate (BHET-OH).
  • Directed evolution was employed to improve PETase activity and stability.
  • Molecular dynamic simulations were used to investigate the structural basis of enzyme stabilization.

Main Results:

  • The engineered DepoPETase variant exhibited a 1407-fold increase in product formation compared to wild-type PETase on amorphous PET film at 50°C.
  • DepoPETase demonstrated a 23.3°C higher melting temperature (Tm) than wild-type PETase.
  • Complete depolymerization of seven untreated PET waste samples and 19.1g of PET waste in a liter-scale reactor was achieved.

Conclusions:

  • The developed high-throughput screening assay facilitates the engineering of improved PET hydrolases.
  • The engineered DepoPETase is a promising candidate for industrial-scale PET depolymerization and plastic waste recycling.
  • Distal substitutions in DepoPETase enhance active site stability through improved inter-loop interactions.