Applications of Polyhydroxyalkanoates

Microbial PHA first received widespread attention during the petroleum crisis of the 1970s as a potential substitute for petrochemical-based plastics. Besides being a thermoplastic with properties comparable to that of PE, PHA are also completely biodegradable. The ability to produce PHA from renewable carbon sources also ensures a sustainable green chemistry process. A considerable amount of work has been focused on the production of various types of PHA for applications as commodity plastics. Initially, PHA were used to make everyday articles such as shampoo bottles and packaging materials. 

In addition to its flexible processability via the extrusion or injection process, copolymer poly[3HB-co-3-hydroxyvalerate (3HV)] exhibits advantageous characteristics such as complete biodegradability in 

In recent years, PHA have rapidly attracted interest from both research and industry. This chapter presents the recent advances of PHA applications in the medical, aquacultural and agricultural fields, and also sheds some light on the use of PHA in new areas such as nanomedicine, biosurfactants and bactericidal agents. 

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ValappU, S.P., Misra, S.K., Boccaccini, A.R. and Roy, I. (2006) Biomedical applications of polyhydroxyalkanoates, an overview of animal testing and in vivo responses. Expert Review of Medical Devices, 3(6), 853-868. 

Chen GQ, Wu Q (2005b) The application of polyhydroxyalkanoates as tissue engineering materials. Biomaterials 26 6565-6578... 

Fig. 1 Applications of polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHA) in various fields (Chen 2009a)...

CeccomUi G, PizzoU M, Scandola M (1993) Effect of a low-molecular-weight plasticizer on the thermal and viscoelastic properties of miscible blends of bacterial poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) with cellulose acetate butyrate. Macromolecules 26 6722-6726 Chanprateep S, Kikuya K, Shimizu H, Shioya S (2(X)2) Model predictive controller for biodegradable polyhydroxyalkanoate production in fed-batch culture. J Bacterid 95 157-169 Chen GQ, Wu Q (2005) The application of polyhydroxyalkanoates as tissue engineering materials. Biomaterials 26 6565-6578... 

Cameron NS, Corbierre MK, Eisenberg A (1999) Asymmetric amphiphilic block copolymers in solution a morphological wonderland. Can J Chem 77 1311-1326 Cheng GQ, Wu Q (2005) The application of polyhydroxyalkanoates as tissue engineering materials. Biomaterials 26 6565-6578... 

Hiraishi, A., Khan, S.T., 2003. Application of polyhydroxyalkanoates for denitrification in water and wastewater treatment. Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology 61 (2), 103—109. 

The ninth chapter is on the packaging applications of polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs). The authors discuss many topics such as polyhydroxyalkanoates, fundamental bioprocess steps for obtaining PHAs, degradation PHA uses in food packaging, methods for obtaining plastic products and examples of applications of bioplastics in food packaging etc. 

S.F. Williams, D.P. Martin, F.A. Skraly, Medical devices and applications of polyhydroxyalkanoate polymers, US7553923... 

Bertrand J, Ramsay B, Ramsay J, Chavarie C (1990) Biosynthesis of poly-p-hydroxyalkanoates frmn ptaitoses by Pseudomonas pseudoflava. Appl Envirrai Microbiol 56(10) 3133-3138 Bramer CO, Vandamme P, da Silva LF, Gomez JGC, Steinbuchel A (2001) Burkholderia sacchari sp. nov., a polyhydroxyalkanoate-accumulating bacterium isolated from soil of a sugar-cane plantation in Brazil. Int J SystEvol Microbiol 51 1709-1713 Brigham CJ, Sinskey AJ (2012) Applications of polyhydroxyalkanoates in the medical industry, frit J Biotechnol Wellness Ind 1 53-60... 

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