2011/04/01 by Tatiana G. Volova, T. G. Volova, A. N. Boyandin +14
Environmental Science · Materials Science · #Microplastics and Plastic Pollution #biodegradable polymer synthesis and properties
paper · doi:10.1134/s0026261711020184
crossref issued 2011/04/01 · crossref published 2011/04/01 · crossref published-print 2011/04/01 · openalex publication_date 2011/04/01 · crossref created 2011/04/19 · crossref published-online 2011/04/20 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · crossref deposited 2026/03/29 · crossref indexed 2026/07/27 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/31
The biodegradation patterns of two types of PHA, a 3-hydroxybutyrate (3-PHB) polymer and a 3-hydroxybutyrate and 3-hydroxyvalerate (3-PHB/3-PHV) copolymer, were studied in tropical marine environments (Dam Bay, South China Sea, Nha Trang, Vietnam). No reliable differences in the degradation of 3-PHB and 3-PHB/3-PHV were revealed. It was shown that the degradation process depended mainly on the shape of a polymer product and its production method: the degradation of polymer films was found to be more active than that of molded solids. A decrease in the molecular mass of both types of PHA was detected in the course of the degradation of PHA samples. However, the degree of PHA crystallinity did not change; that is, the levels of degradation of both the amorphous and crystalline phases of PHA were almost the same. Among microbial PHA degraders, three bacterial strains, Bacillus sp. IBP-V002, Enterobacter cloacae sp. IBP-V001, and Gracilibacillus sp. IBP-V003, were identified based on the results of morphological, biochemical, and molecular phylogenetic analyses. The ability of the representatives of the genera Gracilibacillus and Enterobacter to degrade PHA was revealed for the first time.