Poly biochemical properties

The poly(3HO) depolymerase differs from poly(HASCL) depolymerases in several of its biochemical properties it is specific for poly(HAMCL) and for artificial esters such as p-nitrophenylacyl esters with six or more carbon atoms in the fatty acid moiety. Poly(3HB) and other poly(HASCL) are not hydrolyzed. The enzyme is not inhibited by dithioerythritol or by EDTA and therefore apparently does not contain essential disulfide bonds. It is also not dependent on Ca2+ or other divalent cations. 

The disadvantages of all biochemical routes is the lack of variable tacticity in the polymer and, even more important, the need for time-consuming purification. PHB materials of feasible properties are only achieved with high production costs. In the 1990s, ICl sold a copolymer of 3-HB and 3-HV (BIOPOL) for about 10-20 /kg whereas the price of PP was less than 2 /kg. Therefore, a fermentative synthesis is feasible for smaller applications but not cannot compete with packaging materials such as poly(olefin)s [43 5] (Fig. 10). 

As natural rubber is a product of nature, its properties are determined by the biochemical pathway by which the polymer is synthesized in the plant. In the case of natural rubber the polymerization process cannot be tailored like that of synthetic rubbers. The only option to modify natural rubber is after it has been harvested from the tree. The important modified forms of natural rubber include hydrogenated natural rubber, chlorinated natural rubber, hydro-halogenated natural rubber, cyclized natural rubber, depolymerised liquid natural rubber, resin modified natural rubber, poly(methyl methacrylate) grafted natural rubber, poly(styrene) grafted natural rubber, and epoxidized natural rubber [33,34]. Thermoplastic natural rubber prepared by blending natural rubber and PP is considered as a physically modified form of natural rubber. 

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