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Using biodegradable instead of conventional plastics in agricultural applications promises to help overcome plastic pollution of agricultural soils. However, analytical limitations impede our understanding of plastic biodegradation in soils. Utilizing stable carbon isotope (

The aliphatic-aromatic copolyester poly(butylene adipate-co-butylene terephthalate) (PBAT), also known as ecoflex, contains adipic acid, 1,4-butanediol and terephthalic acid and is proven to be compostable [1–3]). We describe here data for the synthesis and analysis of poly(butylene adipate-co-butylene terephthalate variants with different adipic acid:terephatalic acid ratios and 6 oligomeric PBAT model substrates. Data for the synthesis of the following oligomeric model substrates are described: mono(4-hydroxybutyl) terephthalate (BTa), bis(4-(hexanoyloxy)butyl) terephthalate (HaBTaBHa), bis(4-(decanoyloxy)butyl) terephthalate (DaBTaBDa), bis(4-(tetradecanoyloxy)butyl) terephthalate (TdaBTaBTda), bis(4-hydroxyhexyl) terephthalate (HTaH) and bis(4-(benzoyloxy)butyl) terephthalate (BaBTaBBa). Polymeric PBAT variants were synthesized with adipic acid:terephatalic acid ratios of 100:0, 90:10, 80:20, 70:30, 60:40 and 50:50. These polymeric and oligomeric substances were used as ecoflex model substrates in enzymatic hydrolysis experiments in the article “Substrate specificities of cutinases on aliphatic-aromatic polyesters and on their model substrates” [4]. Keywords: Oligomer synthesis, Oligomer analysis, Polyester model substrates

The enzymatic hydrolysis of the biodegradable polyester ecoflex and of a variety of oligomeric and polymeric ecoflex model substrates was investigated. For this purpose, substrate specificities of two enzymes of typical compost inhabitants, namely a fungal cutinase from Humicola insolens (HiC) and a bacterial cutinase from Thermobifida cellulosilytica (Thc_Cut1) were compared. Model substrates were systematically designed with variations of the chain length of the alcohol and the acid as well as with varying content of the aromatic constituent terephthalic acid (Ta). HPLC/MS identification and quantification of the hydrolysis products terephthalic acid (Ta), benzoic acid (Ba), adipic acid (Ada), mono(4-hydroxybutyl) terephthalate (BTa), mono-(2-hydroxyethyl) terephthalate (ETa), mono-(6-hydroxyhexyl) terephthalate (HTa) and bis(4-hydroxybutyl) terephthalate (BTaB) indicated that these enzymes indeed hydrolyze the tested esters. Shorter terminal chain length acids but longer chain length alcohols in oligomeric model substrates were generally hydrolyzed more efficiently. Thc_Cut1 hydrolyzed aromatic ester bonds more efficiently than HiC resulting in up to 3-fold higher concentrations of the monomeric hydrolysis product Ta. Nevertheless, HiC exhibited a higher overall hydrolytic activity on the tested polyesters, resulting in 2-fold higher concentration of released molecules. Thermogravimetry and differential scanning calorimetry (TG-DSC) of the polymeric model substrates revealed a general trend that a lower difference between melting temperature (Tm) and the temperature at which the enzymatic degradation takes place resulted in higher susceptibility to enzymatic hydrolysis.

Recently, a variety of biodegradable polymers have been developed as alternatives to recalcitrant materials. Although many studies on polyester biodegradability have focused on aerobic environments, there is much less known on biodegradation of polyesters in natural and artificial anaerobic habitats. Consequently, the potential of anaerobic biogas sludge to hydrolyze the synthetic compostable polyester PBAT (poly(butylene adipate-co-butylene terephthalate) was evaluated in this study. On the basis of reverse-phase high-performance liquid chromatography (RP-HPLC) analysis, accumulation of terephthalic acid (Ta) was observed in all anaerobic batches within the first 14 days. Thereafter, a decline of Ta was observed, which occurred presumably due to consumption by the microbial population. The esterase Chath_Est1 from the anaerobic risk 1 strain Clostridium hathewayi DSM-13479 was found to hydrolyze PBAT. Detailed characterization of this esterase including elucidation of the crystal structure was performed. The crystal structure indicates that Chath_Est1 belongs to the α/β-hydrolases family. This study gives a clear hint that also micro-organisms in anaerobic habitats can degrade manmade PBAT.

Two novel esterases from the anaerobe Clostridium botulinum ATCC 3502 (Cbotu_EstA and Cbotu_EstB) were expressed in Escherichia coli BL21-Gold(DE3) and were found to hydrolyze the polyester poly(butylene adipate-co-butylene terephthalate) (PBAT). The active site residues (triad Ser, Asp, His) are present in both enzymes at the same location only with some amino acid variations near the active site at the surrounding of aspartate. Yet, Cbotu_EstA showed higher kcat values on para-nitrophenyl butyrate and para-nitrophenyl acetate and was considerably more active (sixfold) on PBAT. The entrance to the active site of the modeled Cbotu_EstB appears more narrowed compared to the crystal structure of Cbotu_EstA and the N-terminus is shorter which could explain its lower activity on PBAT. The Cbotu_EstA crystal structure consists of two regions that may act as movable cap domains and a zinc metal binding site.

Heterodimers based on the polymer-bound chromophore 4-methylcoumarin and the prodrug 1-heptanoyl-5-fluorouracil, synthesized by photochemical [2 + 2]-cycloaddition are promising photoresponsive drug depots. Drug release experiments are one possibility to deliver proof of a successful reversible drug immobilization, whereas NMR spectroscopy is a potent tool for further structural characterization of these polymer-bound heterodimers. In case of the random copolymer poly(methyl methacrylate-co-7-(2′-methacryloyloxyethoxy)-4-methylcoumarin) three dimers have been identified of which the syn head-to-tail was the predominant one. In contrast, only the syn head-to-head dimer was formed in reasonable yield when the 4-methylcoumarin monofunctionalized pMMA was used as the base polymer. 1D and 2D NMR spectroscopic techniques combined with some theoretical calculations helped in successfully closing one major gap concerning polymer bound 4-methylcoumarin/1-heptanoyl-5-fluorouracil heterodimers that are of potential use in photoresponsive drug delivery devices. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

The synthesis of a polymeric, photoresponsive drug-delivery system on the basis of 4-methylcoumarin-side-chain-functionalized methacrylic copolymers with different degrees of functionalization is reported. Drug-release experiments in solution indicated a maximum release of 22 μg of 5-fluorouracil per 1 mg of polymer. Polymer analogous photochemical drug immobilization does not lead to observable intermolecular cross-linking. Miscibility experiments with PMMA suggest that the bulk polymerization of homogeneous, transparent polymer sheets for intraocular lens fabrication, using MMA as the matrix monomer and incorporating the polymer-drug conjugates as a functional component, is possible.

This work reports the homo- and copoly- merization behavior of previously unknown 4-diamantyl methacrylate (DMA) with vinyl comonomers like methyl methacrylate (MMA); the starting monomer DMA was synthesized in our laboratory using 4-diamantanol and methacryloyl chloride. The structures of the homo- and copolymers were analyzed using NMR techniques. DMA was found to be more reactive than MMA during copoly- merization. The reactivity ratios as determined by the Kelen-Tudos method are rMMA ¼ 0.58 and rDMA ¼ 1.75. The incorporation of a few mol % of diamantyl units into the PMMA backbone led to a significant increase in its thermal stability and glass transition temperature. The pol- ymers with 15 and 42 mol % of DMA units in the copoly- mers showed increased Tg values of 126 � C and 172 � C, respectively. V C 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 114: 2109-2115, 2009

The synthesis of novel methylcoumarin end-functionalized poly(methyl methacrylate) of different molecular weights using atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) is reported. 7-(2′-Bromoisobutyryloxy)-4-methylcoumarin was used as the ATRP initiator at 70 °C using copper(I) bromide/1,1,4,7,7-pentamethyldiethylenetriamine (PMDETA) as the catalyst system. The theoretical and experimental number-average molecular weights Mn with narrow polydispersities (Mw/Mn = 1.1−1.4) agreed very well. Photochemical drug loading of the methylcoumarin end-functionalized polymer was performed in solution (chloroform/acetone 1:2) with benzophenone as additional photosensitizer using a 50-fold excess of the pro-drug 1-heptanoyl-5-fluorouracil (H5FU). UV/vis and NMR spectroscopy were used for the characterization of the polymer drug conjugate and indicated an almost quantitative conversion of coumarin moieties into photodimers. The change of polymer properties like thermal stability, glass transition, and molecular weight afte...

Two novel esterases from the anaerobe Clostridium botulinum ATCC 3502 (Cbotu_EstA and Cbotu_EstB) were expressed in Escherichia coli BL21-Gold(DE3) and were found to hydrolyze the polyester poly(butylene adipate-co-butylene terephthalate) (PBAT). The active site residues (triad Ser, Asp, His) are present in both enzymes at the same location only with some amino acid variations near the active site at the surrounding of aspartate. Yet, Cbotu_EstA showed higher kcat values on para-nitrophenyl butyrate and para-nitrophenyl acetate and was considerably more active (sixfold) on PBAT. The entrance to the active site of the modeled Cbotu_EstB appears more narrowed compared to the crystal structure of Cbotu_EstA and the N-terminus is shorter which could explain its lower activity on PBAT. The Cbotu_EstA crystal structure consists of two regions that may act as movable cap domains and a zinc metal binding site.

Heterodimers based on the polymer-bound chromophore 4-methylcoumarin and the prodrug 1-heptanoyl-5-fluorouracil, synthesized by photochemical [2 + 2]-cycloaddition are promising photoresponsive drug depots. Drug release experiments are one possibility to deliver proof of a successful reversible drug immobilization, whereas NMR spectroscopy is a potent tool for further structural characterization of these polymer-bound heterodimers. In case of the random copolymer poly(methyl methacrylate-co-7-(2'-methacryloyloxyethoxy)-4-methylcoumarin) three dimers have been identified of which the syn head-to-tail was the predominant one. In contrast, only the syn head-to-head dimer was formed in reasonable yield when the 4-methylcoumarin monofunctionalized pMMA was used as the base polymer. 1D and 2D NMR spectroscopic techniques combined with some theoretical calculations helped in successfully closing one major gap concerning polymer bound 4-methylcoumarin/1-heptanoyl-5-fluorouracil heterodimers that are of potential use in photoresponsive drug delivery devices.

We report the modulation of the absorbance of a flavin push-pull derivative through specific recognition by a complementary diamidopyridine (DAP), shifting the flavin intramolecular charge transfer band by approximately 30 nm.