Researchers at the University of Edinburgh have come up with an interesting new invention that can benefit both environmental cleanup as well as medication production, by effectively utilizing the microbes to transform plastic waste into paracetamol.
In Accordance with a study that was recently published in Nature Chemistry, paracetamol (acetaminophen) can be manufactured by E. coli bacteria utilizing materials obtained from recycled plastic bottles.
In the past, petroleum-based feedstocks have been utilized for the production of paracetamol. Through the use of waste plastic as the initial material as opposed to the fossil fuels, this creative approach clears the path towards more sustainable manufacturing process of plastic into paracetamol.
The polyethylene terephthalate (PET), a common material found in drink bottles and packaging, was the subject of the study. To convert PET into a new intermediate substance, they used eco-friendly chemical procedures.
After being given this substance, the genetically altered E. coli finished the last chemical reactions necessary to generate paracetamol.
The research’s main finding was that living cells may undergo a Lossen rearrangement, a chemical reaction not previously observed in nature, without suffering any damage.
This reaction was necessary for the bacteria to convert the PET-derived intermediate into paracetamol. The scientists showed that a biocompatible environment can support this process.
Professor Stephen Wallace, the study’s lead author, highlighted the two positives of the discovery. He said:
What this technology shows is that by merging chemistry and biology in this way for the first time, we can make paracetamol more sustainably and clean up plastic waste from the environment at the same time.
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