2023 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

Development of Timed Biodegradable Polymers for Complete Organic Recycling of Polymers in the Marine Environment

Research Project

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Project/Area Number	19H04311
Research Category	Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (B)
Allocation Type	Single-year Grants
Section	一般
Review Section	Basic Section 64030:Environmental materials and recycle technology-related
Research Institution	Gunma University
Principal Investigator	KASUYA Ken-ichi 群馬大学, 大学院理工学府, 教授 (60301751)
Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha)	橘熊野群馬大学, 大学院理工学府, 准教授 (60504024)
Project Period (FY)	2019-04-01 – 2024-03-31
Keywords	海洋生分解性 / 時限生分解
Outline of Final Research Achievements	We conducted screening of PBP (Potentially Biodegradable Polymers) in various marine environments and found that aliphatic polyesters fall into this category. We identified effective biological triggers for these PBPs from the marine environment. Additionally, we discovered low-molecular-weight compounds that can be used as bio-stimulation-type biodegradation triggers. We evaluated the biodegradation rate in real marine environments of polymers with introduced disulfide bonds as non-biological triggers for PBPs. The biodegradation of these polymers involves two steps: 1) hydrolysis by degrading enzymes, followed by 2) mineralization of the degradation products by microorganisms. In real-world environments, however, these steps 1) and 2) occur within the biofilm formed near the material. To achieve controlled degradation rates, we elucidated this complex system's correlation through plastisphere-metagenome and metatranscriptome analyses.
Free Research Field	生分解性プラスチック
Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements	海洋では、多くの生分解性プラスチックが十分な分解性を示さない。一方、本研究において、分解開始時期制御および分解速度制御に対して一定の指針を得ることができた。また、一部は知財としての価値も見出すことができた。これにより、海洋プラスチックゴミ問題が、解消される可能性が示された。