Solid structure and biodegradation of the compositionally fractionated poly(3-hydroxybutyric acid-co-3-hydroxypropionic acid)s

The solid structure and biodegradation behavior of the compositionally fractionated bacterial poly(3-hydroxybutyric acid-co-3-hydroxypropionic acid)s [P(3HB-co-3HP)] were examined. Utilizing the extracellular poly(3-hydroxybutyric acid) [P(3HB)]depolymerase purified from the bacterium strain Alcaligenes faecalis T1, enzymatic degradation behavior was investigated for P(3HB), poly(3-hydroxypropionic acid) [P(3HP)] and the fractionated P(3HB-co-3HP)s. It was revealed that P(3HB) and P(3HP) showed the distinguishable depolymerase concentration dependence of enzymatic degradation feature. For the fractionated copolyesters, the results indicated that P(3HB-co-3HP)s with higher 3HB contents which form P(3HB)-type of crystallites exhibited much higher enzymatic degradation rates than those of copolyesters with higher 3HP contents which form P(3HP)-type of crystallites, and that the amorphous copolyester could hardly be degraded. The H-1 NMR analyses of the enzymatic degradation products revealed that P(3HB) was first degraded into dimers and then into monomers. In contrast, the presence of oligomers higher than dimers was suggested in the degradation products of P(3HP), and the 3HP content dependence of degradation products was confirmed for the fractionated P(3HB-co-3HP)s. In addition, environmental degradabilities were assessed by BOD method in the river water. The results confirmed the environmental degradabilities of P(3HB) and copolyesters except for P(3HP), indicating the inducing effect of 3HB comonomers on the biodegradation of 3HP units in copolyesters. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.