Evidence map›Paper›PMID 39259499›Full record

ArticleACS macro letters2024

Correlation of Enzymatic Depolymerization Rates with the Structure of Polyethylene-Like Long-Chain Aliphatic Polyesters.

Simon T Schwab, Leonie Y Bühler, David Schleheck, Taylor F Nelson, Stefan Mecking

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in ACS macro letters, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 7 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
7citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

7 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Review
  2. Article
  3. Review
  4. Review
  5. Interfacial and CrystallineJournal of the American Chemical Society · 2025
    Article
  6. Article
  7. Frontiers in microbiology · 2025
    Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

5 authors.

Simon T SchwabChair of Chemical Materials Science, Department of Chemistry, University of Konstanz, Universitätsstraße 10, 78457 Konstanz, Germany.ORCID 0009-0008-9342-8538
Leonie Y BühlerChair of Chemical Materials Science, Department of Chemistry, University of Konstanz, Universitätsstraße 10, 78457 Konstanz, Germany.
David SchleheckMicrobial Ecology and Limnic Microbiology, Department of Biology, University of Konstanz, Universitätsstraße 10, 78457 Konstanz, Germany.ORCID 0009-0000-1752-1580
Taylor F NelsonChair of Chemical Materials Science, Department of Chemistry, University of Konstanz, Universitätsstraße 10, 78457 Konstanz, Germany.ORCID 0000-0003-0719-4402
Stefan MeckingChair of Chemical Materials Science, Department of Chemistry, University of Konstanz, Universitätsstraße 10, 78457 Konstanz, Germany.ORCID 0000-0002-6618-6659

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Long-chain aliphatic polyesters are emerging sustainable materials that exhibit polyethylene-like properties while being amenable to chemical recycling and biodegradation. However, varying polyester chemical structures results in markedly different degradation rates, which cannot be predicted from commonly correlated bulk polyester properties, such as polymer melting temperature. To elucidate these structure-degradability relationships, long-chain polyesters varying in their monomer composition and crystallinity were subjected to enzymatic hydrolysis, the rates of which were quantified via detection of formed monomers. Copolymers with poorly water-soluble, long-chain diol monomers (e.g., 1,18-octadecanediol) demonstrated strongly reduced depolymerization rates compared to copolymers with shorter chain length diol monomers. This was illustrated by, e.g., the 20× faster hydrolysis of PE-4,18, consisting of 1,4-butanediol and 1,18-octadecanedicarboxylic acid monomers, relative to PE-18,4. The insoluble long-chain diol monomer released upon hydrolysis was proposed to remain attached to the bulk polymer surface, decreasing the accessibility of the remaining ester bonds to enzymes for further hydrolysis. Tuning of polyester crystallinity via the introduction of branched monomers led to variable hydrolysis rates, which increased by an order of magnitude when crystallinity decreased from 72% to 45%. The results reported enables the informed design of polyester structures with balanced material properties and amenability to depolymerization.

Identifiers

PMID39259499
PMCPMC11483938

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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.