Chemistry Reference
In-Depth Information
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CHAPTER 7
Modification of
Polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs)
A. M. GUMEL, M. H. ARIS AND M. S. M. ANNUAR*
Institute of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Science, University of Malaya,
50603 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
*Email: suan_annuar@um.edu.my
7.1 Introduction
Polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs) are biodegradable and biocompatible poly-
esters with versatile structural compositions. Bacterial PHAs are produced
using a combination of renewable feedstock and biological methods mostly
via a fermentation process. Native and recombinant microorganisms have
been generally used to produce different types of PHAs, such as homo-
polymers
1,2
and copolymers of diverse morphology.
3-5
Alternative pro-
duction schemes of PHAs in vitro based on cell-free enzymatic catalysis are
gaining momentum and may become the preferred route to some specialty
products.
6,7
In addition to their biodegradability, compatibility, and compostability,
PHAs were reported to possess gas-barrier properties almost similar to those
of polyvinyl chloride and polyethylene terephthalate.
8
These combinations
of excellent physico-chemical properties coupled with the current concerns
over environmental pollution and waste degradation drive their increasing
commercial exploitation in different niche applications spanning from
biomedical, packaging, automotive, infrastructure, aerospace to military
applications.
7,9
.
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