Degradable plastics including movable cyclodextrin crosslinking units
Today’s cyclodextrin is about enforcing recyclable plastic with CDs.
A collaborative work performed by Nara Laboratory, Kyoeisha Chemical Co. and various departments of Osaka University might make a step further in achieving a sustainable society with the development of advanced degradable plastics including movable cyclodextrin crosslinking units.
In a study published recently in Chem [link to the artickle], the researchers have revealed that developing polymers with movable crosslinks not only increases their strength but also promotes degradation by enzymes under mild conditions.
The movable crosslinks are cyclodextrins, which are threaded on one polymer strand and attached to another, endowing the resulting plastics with increased toughness and durability. Cyclodextrins being nontoxic, biodegradable, and widely available, making them attractive as a polymer component.
The cyclodextrin crosslinks also enabled the degradation of the polymers during subsequent enzymatic treatment because their bulky structure increased the free volume in the polymer network, which improved access of the enzyme to the target cleavage sites on the polymer chains.
These advanced biodegradable plastics can readily be broken down by enzymes into useful precursor molecules that could be reused in further materials, suppressing waste generation and contributing to the development of a sustainable industry.
