Description:
At a Glance:
The invention is a new chemical synthesis route to poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) from bio-sourced cyclic diolides
Advantages include high isotacticity and molecular weight
Commercial applications include biomaterials, biomedical applications, biodegradable polyester and biodegradable thermoplastics
Background:
Poly(hydroxyalkanoate)s (PHAs), naturally produced by bacteria and other living microorganisms from biorenewable resources such as carbohydrates and fats, are an important class of commercially implemented aliphatic polyesters as biodegradable and/or bio-compatible materials for biomedical, pharmaceutical, and packaging applications. The most prominent, most extensively studied, PHA is poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) (P3HB), which is a perfect stereoregular, pure isotactic crystalline thermoplastic material. Thanks to its comparable thermal and mechanical properties to those of high-performance isotactic polypropylene (it-PP), highly isotactic P3HB is being considered as an attractive biodegradable alternative to petroleum-based plastics. However, high current production costs and limited production volumes of bacterial/microbial PHAs, including P3HB, render them impractical in many applications in areas such as biorenewable and biodegradable “green” commodity thermoplastics.
Technology Overview:
The invention is a new chemical synthesis route to technologically important biodegradable poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) (P3HB) with high iso-tacticity and molecular weight required for a practical use. The new route utilizes racemic eight-membered cyclic diolide (rac-DL) derived from bio-sourced dimethyl succinate and enantomeric (R,R)-DL and (S,S)-DL, optically resolved by metal-based catalysts. With a stereo selective racemic molecular catalyst, the ROP of rac-DL under ambient conditions produces rapidly P3HB with perfect isotacticity, high crystallinity and metal temperature, as well as high molecular weight and low dispersity.
Benefits:
High isotacticity and molecular weight
Low dispersity
IP Status:
Provisional patent application
