Synthesis, Enzymatic Degradation, and Polymer-Miscibility Evaluation of Nonionic Antimicrobial Hyperbranched Polyesters with Indole or Isatin Functionalities.

Most macromolecular antimicrobials are ionic and thus lack miscibility/compatibility with nonionic substrate materials. In this context, nonionic hyperbranched polyesters (HBPs) with indole or isatin functionality were rationally designed, synthesized, and characterized. Antimicrobial disk diffusion assay indicated that these HBPs showed significant antibacterial activity against 8 human pathogenic bacteria compared to small molecules with indole or isatin groups. According to DSC measurements, up to 20% indole-based HBP is miscible with biodegradable polyesters (polyhydroxybutyrate or polycaprolactone), which can be attributed to the favorable hydrogen bonding between the N-H moiety of indole and the C═O of polyesters. HBPs with isatin or methylindole were completely immiscible with the same matrices. None of the HBPs leaked out from plastic matrix after being immersed in water for 5 days. The incorporation of indole into HBPs as well as small molecules facilitated their enzymatic degradation with PETase from Ideonella sakaiensis, while isatin had a complex impact. Molecular docking simulations of monomeric molecules with PETase revealed different orientations of the molecules at the active site due to the presence of indole or isatin groups, which could be related to the observed different enzymatic degradation behavior. Finally, biocompatibility analysis with a mammalian cell line showed the negligible cytotoxic effect of the fabricated HBPs.

Synthesis, Molecular Docking Simulation, and Enzymatic Degradation of AB-Type Indole-Based Polyesters with Improved Thermal Properties.

We report the facile synthesis of a series of indole-based hydroxyl-carboxylate (AB-type) monomers by a one-step procedure. These monomers were successfully polymerized by melt polycondensation to yield AB-type polyesters with a varied number of flexible methylene units in the backbones. These indole-based AB-polyesters showed decent thermal stability according to the TGA results (onset thermal degradation temperature of >330 °C), and their glass transition temperatures are dependent on the length of the methylene bridge (Tg ≈ 62-102 °C) according to the DSC results. Furthermore, DSC and WAXD measurements revealed that these polymers did not crystallize from melt, but the ones with flexible structures could crystallize from solution. Molecular docking simulations showed favorable interactions between indole-based polyesters and polyethylene terephthalate hydrolase (PETase) from Ideonella sakaiensis. This was corroborated by the experimental results, which indicated that the PETase enzyme has degrading activity on the indole-based AB polyesters except for the one with the highest degree of crystallinity.

Efficient poly(3-hydroxypropionate) production from glycerol using Lactobacillus reuteri and recombinant Escherichia coli harboring L. reuteri propionaldehyde dehydrogenase and Chromobacterium sp. PHA synthase genes.

Poly(3-hydroxypropionate), P(3HP), is a polymer combining good biodegradability with favorable material properties. In the present study, a production system for P(3HP) was designed, comprising conversion of glycerol to 3-hydroxypropionaldehyde (3HPA) as equilibrium mixture with 3HPA-hydrate and -dimer in aqueous system (reuterin) using resting cells of native Lactobacillus reuteri in a first stage followed by transformation of the 3HPA to P(3HP) using recombinant Escherichia coli strain co-expressing highly active coenzyme A-acylating propionaldehyde dehydrogenase (PduP) from L. reuteri and polyhydroxyalkanoate synthase (PhaCcs) from Chromobacterium sp. P(3HP) content of up to 40% (w/w) cell dry weight was reached, and the yield with respect to the reuterin consumed by the cells was 78%. Short biotransformation period (4.5h), lack of additives or expensive cofactors, and use of a cheap medium for cultivation of the recombinant strain, provides a new efficient and potentially economical system for P(3HP) production.