On Thursday, the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) announced that Lee Sang Yeop and his research team successfully engineered a microbial strain to synthesize plastic from glucose, producing an eco-friendly polyester amide bioplastic.
Polyester amide is gaining attention as a sustainable alternative to conventional plastics. It combines the flexibility of polyester (PET) with the strength of polyamide (nylon) while being biodegradable.
Until now, polyester amide could only be produced using fossil fuel-based methods, contributing to environmental pollution.
To overcome this limitation, the research team applied systems metabolic engineering to design an entirely new microbial metabolic pathway not found in nature.
As a result, they developed a microbial strain capable of producing nine types of polyester amides, including 3-hydroxybutyrate. This strain utilizes glucose derived from abundant biomass sources such as waste wood and weeds.
The team also optimized an oil-based fermentation process to cultivate the microorganism efficiently, achieving a high production yield of 54g/L.
Material analysis showed that the resulting polyester amide has mechanical properties comparable to high-density polyethylene, a widely used plastic, and is biodegradable.
Lee stated, “This study is the first to demonstrate that bio-based plastics can be produced through microbial metabolic engineering without relying on petrochemical raw materials. Moving forward, we plan to enhance production efficiency and cost-effectiveness to support large-scale manufacturing.”
The research findings were published online in the international journal Nature Chemical Biology.