Enzymatic Polymerization of PCL-PEG Co-polymers for Biomedical Applications

Biodegradable polymers, obtained via chemical synthesis, are currently employed in a wide range of biomedical applications. However, enzymatic polymerization is an attractive alternative because it is more sustainable and safer. Many lipases can be employed in ring-opening polymerization (ROP) of bi...

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Autores principales: Figueiredo, Pedro, Almeida, Beatriz C., Carvalho, Alexandra T. P.
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: Frontiers Media S.A. 2019
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6811512/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/31681797
http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fmolb.2019.00109
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author Figueiredo, Pedro
Almeida, Beatriz C.
Carvalho, Alexandra T. P.
author_facet Figueiredo, Pedro
Almeida, Beatriz C.
Carvalho, Alexandra T. P.
author_sort Figueiredo, Pedro
collection PubMed
description Biodegradable polymers, obtained via chemical synthesis, are currently employed in a wide range of biomedical applications. However, enzymatic polymerization is an attractive alternative because it is more sustainable and safer. Many lipases can be employed in ring-opening polymerization (ROP) of biodegradable polymers. Nevertheless, the harsh conditions required in industrial context are not always compatible with their enzymatic activity. In this work, we have studied a thermophilic carboxylesterase and the commonly used Lipase B from Candida antarctica (CaLB) for tailored synthesis of amphiphilic polyesters for biomedical applications. We have conducted Molecular Dynamics (MD) and Quantum Mechanics/Molecular Mechanics (QM/MM) MD simulations of the synthesis of Polycaprolactone—Polyethylene Glycol (PCL—PEG) model co-polymers. Our insights about the reaction mechanisms are important for the design of customized enzymes capable to synthesize different polyesters for biomedical applications.
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spelling pubmed-68115122019-11-03 Enzymatic Polymerization of PCL-PEG Co-polymers for Biomedical Applications Figueiredo, Pedro Almeida, Beatriz C. Carvalho, Alexandra T. P. Front Mol Biosci Molecular Biosciences Biodegradable polymers, obtained via chemical synthesis, are currently employed in a wide range of biomedical applications. However, enzymatic polymerization is an attractive alternative because it is more sustainable and safer. Many lipases can be employed in ring-opening polymerization (ROP) of biodegradable polymers. Nevertheless, the harsh conditions required in industrial context are not always compatible with their enzymatic activity. In this work, we have studied a thermophilic carboxylesterase and the commonly used Lipase B from Candida antarctica (CaLB) for tailored synthesis of amphiphilic polyesters for biomedical applications. We have conducted Molecular Dynamics (MD) and Quantum Mechanics/Molecular Mechanics (QM/MM) MD simulations of the synthesis of Polycaprolactone—Polyethylene Glycol (PCL—PEG) model co-polymers. Our insights about the reaction mechanisms are important for the design of customized enzymes capable to synthesize different polyesters for biomedical applications. Frontiers Media S.A. 2019-10-17 /pmc/articles/PMC6811512/ /pubmed/31681797 http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fmolb.2019.00109 Text en Copyright © 2019 Figueiredo, Almeida and Carvalho. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
spellingShingle Molecular Biosciences
Figueiredo, Pedro
Almeida, Beatriz C.
Carvalho, Alexandra T. P.
Enzymatic Polymerization of PCL-PEG Co-polymers for Biomedical Applications
title Enzymatic Polymerization of PCL-PEG Co-polymers for Biomedical Applications
title_full Enzymatic Polymerization of PCL-PEG Co-polymers for Biomedical Applications
title_fullStr Enzymatic Polymerization of PCL-PEG Co-polymers for Biomedical Applications
title_full_unstemmed Enzymatic Polymerization of PCL-PEG Co-polymers for Biomedical Applications
title_short Enzymatic Polymerization of PCL-PEG Co-polymers for Biomedical Applications
title_sort enzymatic polymerization of pcl-peg co-polymers for biomedical applications
topic Molecular Biosciences
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6811512/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/31681797
http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fmolb.2019.00109
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