US EditionHow Scientists Transformed Plastic Bottles Into a Parkinson’s Drug
Engineered bacteria convert plastic waste into L-DOPA, offering a sustainable alternative to fossil fuel-based drug production, with 50 million tonnes of PET plastic produced annually.
- University of Edinburgh scientists announced using engineered E. coli to convert PET waste into L‑DOPA, published in Nature Sustainability.
- Some 50 million tonnes of PET waste are produced annually and chemically broken down into terephthalic acid for reuse at the Carbon‑Loop Sustainable Biomanufacturing Hub.
- In the lab, specially engineered E. coli transform terephthalic acid molecules into L‑DOPA through a series of biological reactions.
- Moving toward industrial application, researchers will focus on optimising the process, improving scalability, and assessing environmental and economic performance for industrial applications, potentially launching a bio-upcycling industry.
- Funded by UK Research and Innovation and the Industrial Biotechnology Innovation Centre, researchers say the method is more sustainable than fossil‑fuel‑based manufacturing and could reduce reliance on finite feedstocks.
29 Articles
29 Articles
Scientists in Scotland have developed a process that transforms plastic waste into valuable drugs. Genetically modified bacteria do the work.
Scientists have succeeded in making Parkinson's medication from plastic bottles. The method could reduce emissions and help the environment.
From the plastic bottles that are poisoning our planet it is possible to obtain a useful drug for the treatment of Parkinson's, a neurodegenerative disease that affects about 10 million people in the world. To succeed in the enterprise was a group of researchers of the University of Edinburgh, who used genetically modified bacteria to transform plastic waste into L-DOPA, the main medicine used to fight Parkinson's. The scholars have therefore ma…
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