Control of Enzymatic Degradation of Microbial Polyesters by Plasma Modification

✍ Scribed by Jin-Ho Ryou; Chang-Sik Ha; Jae-Won Kim; Won-Ki Lee

• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 2003
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 182 KB
• Volume: 3
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 1616-5187
• DOI: 10.1002/mabi.200390004

✦ Synopsis

Abstract

The rate of enzymatic degradation of surface‐modified microbial polyesters, poly[(R)‐3‐hydroxybutyrate] and poly[(R)‐3‐hydroxybutyrate‐co‐3‐hydroxyvalerate], was studied. The plasma treatments were carried out in a CF~3~H or O~2~ environment. It was found that the CF~3~H plasma‐treated polyesters exhibited significant retardation of enzymatic erosion because of the surface fluorocarbon groups induced by CF~3~H plasma. These surface fluorocarbon groups act as retardants on enzymatic degradation due to increased hydrophobicity and of the inactivity of enzymes. However, the increased surface hydrophilicity of polyesters induced by O~2~ plasma results in no significant acceleration of the enzymatic erosion, which may be due to the thin modified layer.

Weight loss profiles of P(3HB) film exposed to CF~3~H plasma as a function of plasma exposure time.

magnified imageWeight loss profiles of P(3HB) film exposed to CF~3~H plasma as a function of plasma exposure time.