IMR Press / FBL / Volume 15 / Issue 1 / DOI: 10.2741/3609

Frontiers in Bioscience-Landmark (FBL) is published by IMR Press from Volume 26 Issue 5 (2021). Previous articles were published by another publisher on a subscription basis, and they are hosted by IMR Press on imrpress.com as a courtesy and upon agreement with Frontiers in Bioscience.

Article
Activation of polyhydroxyalkanoates: functionalization and modification
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1 Microbial and Enzymatic Technology Group, Bioprocess Center, Biotechnology Research Institute, National Research Council Canada, 6100 Royalmount Avenue, Montreal, Quebec, H4P 2R2, Canada
2 Laboratoire de Bioingenierie et de Biophysique de l’Universite de Sherbrooke, Department of Chemical and Biotechnological Engineering, Universite de Sherbrooke, 2500 Boulevard de l’Universite Sherbrooke, Quebec, J1K 2R1, Canada
Front. Biosci. (Landmark Ed) 2010, 15(1), 93–121; https://doi.org/10.2741/3609
Published: 1 January 2010
Abstract

Polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs) serve numerous bacteria as storage compounds. It is generally believed that under unbalanced growth conditions, n-hydroxyalkanoates are synthesized inside the bacterial cells, polymerized to polyesters, and densely packed in granules. In the absence of extracellular carbon, the internally stored PHAs are depolymerized and consequently metabolized to enable cell maintenance and reproduction. However, some bacteria exhibit growth associated production and degradation of PHAs as part of the cell sustainment. This natural production and degradation cycle indicates that PHAs possess biodegradability and may have biocompatibility properties. Since the discovery that some bacteria can incorporate 3-hydroxyalkanoates bearing functional groups from related substrates, research has led to structural diversification of PHAs by biosynthesis and chemical modifications. A commonly applied route for tailoring PHAs is their in situ functionalization by biosynthetically producing side chains with terminal double bonds followed by chemistry. Non-functionalized PHAs can also be activated by surface modification techniques. The resulting tailor-made structural and material properties have positioned polyhydroxyalkanoates well to contribute to the manufacturing of second and third generation biomaterials.

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