Imagine turning all the plastic already out there back into good quality plastic, instead of something worse. That is the idea behind a new BlueTools video. It follows scientists on their search for enzymes that can break down plastic.
Today, most recycled plastic ends up in lower quality products. Manufacturers still make new plastic from crude oil. Scientists at the University of Cambridge, working within BlueTools, have developed a new method. It can screen over 1,000 enzymes every second, searching for ones that break plastic down without losing its quality.
Testing enzymes against real plastic
Normally, scientists test enzymes on synthetic material rather than real plastic, which is not very reliable. Liisa van Vliet has developed a microfluidic screening platform that uses tiny droplets, some just seven picolitres. Each droplet acts as its own test tube. Inside, real plastic nanoparticles from PET and nylon meet the enzymes directly.
The new platform can run up to 100 million tests a day. This improves the odds of finding a rare, plastic degrading enzyme a thousandfold. Project coordinator Aurelio Hidalgo and his team at the Autonomous University of Madrid have already shown that the method works.
The researchers are now ready to scan the ocean’s vast genetic resources. They want to find the natural helpers that break down plastic most efficiently.
“So if in ten years we’re saying actually you give your clothes back to whatever shop you bought it, they put some enzyme on it, the enzyme breaks up the plastic, you save the cotton, you can reloop the plastic. That’d be wonderful,” Liisa adds.
Beyond plastic
The same method works for other genes too, including ones that help microbes survive extreme salt, heat or UV light. These could one day help crops resist drought, or keep ship hulls and medical implants free of fouling.