Microbial and Enzymatic Synthesis of Polymers

Summary This chapter focuses on lipid whole-cell biotransformations to polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs), and cell-free (lipase, cutinase) catalyzed condensation and ring-opening polymerization of functional lipids. The composition of microbial PHAs produced from lipids varies greatly as a function of the PHA production strain. While most reports of PHA production from lipids use shake flask cultivations, high-yielding fermentations with optimized fatty acid (FA) feeding strategies are described for medium-chain-length PHA (mcl, C6–C14) production. Furthermore, to decrease FA feedstock costs in PHA fermentations, FA wastes or coproduct streams have successfully replaced native plant oils. Lipase catalysis using immobilized enzymes is an emerging strategy for FA polymerizations. Unlike chemical catalysts, enzymes function under mild conditions (