Specific Ion Effects on the Enzymatic Degradation of Polyester Films

Soil environment on earth contains a variety of ions,which are expected to play a vital role in the biodegradation of plastics discarded in the environment.In this work,poly(butyleneadipate-co-terephthalate)(PBAT)is employed as a model biodegradable plastic to study the specific ion effects on the enzymatic degradation of polyester plastics.The results show that the specific ion effects on the enzymatic degradation rate of the PBAT films and on the catalytic rate constant for the enzymatic hydrolysis of the ester bonds are strongly dependent on temperature and ionic strength.Both the enzymatic degradation rate and catalytic rate constant decrease following the trends Na^(+)>K^(+)>Ca^(2+)and Cl^(-)>SO_(4)^(2-)>NO_(3)^(-)for cations and anions,respectively,indicating that the ion-specific enzymatic degradation of the PBAT films is closely correlated with the specific ion effects on enzymatic hydrolysis of the ester bonds.Our study shows that the specific ion effects on the enzyme activity can be understood by taking into account the ion-specific cation-anion interaction,ionic dispersion force,salting-out effect and salting-in effect.This study of specific ion effects on the enzymatic hydrolysis of the ester bonds and the resultant enzymatic degradation of the PBAT films would offer us a new clue to develop new biodegradable,environmentally friendly synthetic plastics.

The Anion Binding Affinity Determines the Strength of Anion Specificities of Thermosensitive Polymers

In this work,we demonstrate that the strength of anion specificities of thermosensitive polymers is determined by the affinity of direct anion binding to the polymers.We have prepared a series of thermosensitive statistical copolymers with distinct thermoresponsive behaviors.The anions can specifically interact with the different types of thermosensitive polymers in very different strengths.A similar strength of specific anion effects on thermoresponsive behaviors can be observed at very different salt concentrations for the different types of thermosensitive polymers.A stronger anion binding to the thermosensitive polymers gives rise to a more obvious anion specificity and vice versa.The work presented here opens up opportunities for the application of ion binding affinity to modulate the strength of ion specificities of thermosensitive polymers.