Scientists build a tiny trap that eats plastic hormone chemical
Lu Q, Zhang W, Chen W, Han Z, Liu L
Bioremediation
The receipt paper and plastic packaging piling up in landfills near natural areas often leach bisphenol S into soil and waterways, and this enzyme-based cleanup tool could eventually help restore contaminated ground where native plants and wildlife struggle to take hold.
Bisphenol S is a chemical used in plastics and receipt paper that messes with hormones in animals and is hard to break down in nature. Researchers took an enzyme from a soil bacterium, boosted its production, and locked it inside tiny protective cages made from copper and genetic building blocks. This upgraded enzyme destroyed almost all the chemical in just an hour and could be reused five times without losing much power.
Key Findings
Immobilizing the laccase enzyme in copper-nucleotide MOFs boosted its activity to 106.5% of the free enzyme and extended its heat-resistant half-life at 70°C from 2.9 to 3.4 hours
The encapsulated enzyme (Lac@Cu/CGMP) degraded 94% of bisphenol S within 1 hour and retained high efficiency across five reuse cycles
LC-MS analysis revealed the degradation pathway involves hydroxylation, deoxygenation, and cleavage of the sulfur-carbon bond in the bisphenol S molecule
chevron_right Technical Summary
Scientists engineered a bacterial enzyme, locked inside a copper-based nanomaterial, that breaks down 94% of bisphenol S, a hormone-disrupting chemical found in plastics and paper, within just one hour.
Abstract Preview
Original paper
Enhanced biodegradation of bisphenol S by laccase encapsulated in copper-nucleotide metal-organic frameworks.
Bisphenol S (BPS) is widely used as a substitute for bisphenol A (BPA) but has also been identified as an endocrine-disrupting compound with considerable biotoxicity. Compared with BPA, BPS exhibit...
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