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Related Concept Videos

Esters to Carboxylic Acids: Acid-Catalyzed Hydrolysis01:13

Esters to Carboxylic Acids: Acid-Catalyzed Hydrolysis

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Hydrolysis of esters under acidic conditions proceeds through a nucleophilic acyl substitution. In the presence of excess water, the reaction proceeds in a reversible manner, forming carboxylic acids and alcohols.
During hydrolysis, the ester is first activated towards nucleophilic attack through the protonation of the carboxyl oxygen atom by the acid catalyst. The protonation makes the ester carbonyl carbon more electrophilic. In the next step, water acts as a nucleophile and adds to the...
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Amides to Carboxylic Acids: Hydrolysis01:28

Amides to Carboxylic Acids: Hydrolysis

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Amides can undergo either acid-catalyzed hydrolysis or base-promoted hydrolysis through a typical nucleophilic acyl substitution. Each hydrolysis requires severe conditions.
Acid-catalyzed hydrolysis:
Hydrolysis of amides under acidic conditions yields carboxylic acids. Since the reaction occurs slowly, hydrolysis requires the conditions of heat.
The mechanism begins with the protonation of the carbonyl oxygen by the acid catalyst. The protonation makes the amide carbonyl carbon more...
3.1K
Olefin Metathesis Polymerization: Acyclic Diene Metathesis (ADMET)00:53

Olefin Metathesis Polymerization: Acyclic Diene Metathesis (ADMET)

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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...
1.9K
Hydrolysis01:15

Hydrolysis

104.1K
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...
104.1K
Step-Growth Polymerization: Overview01:03

Step-Growth Polymerization: Overview

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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...
3.4K
Olefin Metathesis Polymerization: Overview01:13

Olefin Metathesis Polymerization: Overview

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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...
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Structure-Guided Engineering of a Versatile Urethanase Improves Its Polyurethane Depolymerization Activity.

Zhishuai Li1,2, Xu Han1,2, Lin Cong1,2,3

  • 1Key Laboratory of Engineering Biology for Low-carbon Manufacturing, National Engineering Research Center for Industrial Enzymes, National Technology Innovation Center of Synthetic Biology, Tianjin Institute of Industrial Biotechnology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 32 West Seventh Avenue, Tianjin Airport Economic Area, Tianjin, 300308, China.

Advanced Science (Weinheim, Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany)
|February 8, 2025
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Researchers engineered a novel urethanase enzyme, UMG-SP2, to break down polyurethane (PUR) plastic waste. Redesigned variants show significantly enhanced depolymerization activity, offering a promising biotechnological solution for plastic recycling.

Keywords:
crystal structuresenzyme engineeringmolecular dynamics simulationsplastic degradationpolyurethaneurethanase

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Area of Science:

  • Biotechnology
  • Polymer Science
  • Enzymology

Background:

  • Polyurethane (PUR) is a major contributor to global plastic waste.
  • Biotechnological approaches, particularly enzyme-based recycling, are gaining traction for plastic waste management.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To elucidate the structural basis of UMG-SP2's urethanase activity.
  • To engineer enhanced PUR-degrading enzymes through semi-rational design.

Main Methods:

  • Determined the crystal structures of UMG-SP2 and its complexes.
  • Performed molecular dynamics simulations.
  • Employed semi-rational enzyme redesign.

Main Results:

  • Reported the crystal structure of UMG-SP2 at 2.59 Å resolution.
  • Identified flexible loop L3 as critical for hydrolytic activity.
  • Developed variants (A141G, Q399A) with 30.7- and 7.4-fold increased activity on different PUR types.

Conclusions:

  • Structural insights into UMG-SP2 advance the understanding of PUR-hydrolyzing enzymes.
  • Engineered variants demonstrate potential for efficient industrial PUR recycling.
  • These findings contribute to mitigating the environmental impact of PUR plastic waste.