November 29, 2018
Keio University
A research group, led by Professor Kenji Miyamoto and Senior Assistant Professor Norifumi Kawakami of the Department of Biosciences and Informatics, Faculty of Science and Technology, Keio University, and Jun Furukawa (a second-year student in the Doctoral Programs) of the Graduate School of Science and Technology, along with Professor Emeritus Kohei Oda of the Kyoto Institute of Technology, conducted research to improve the activity of the polyethylene terephthalate-degrading enzyme (PETase), which the same research group was the first in the world to discover. They have succeeded in increasing the degradation rate by more than 100 times simply by adding a small amount of surfactant.
PET is used worldwide as a material for products such as plastic bottles and clothing. While some PET products are recycled, there has been a demand for a degradation technology with a low environmental impact. The results of this research, which demonstrate that the PET degradation rate of the enzyme can be dramatically improved through a simple operation, are expected to contribute to the practical application of biorecycling technology for used PET products.
The results of this research are scheduled to be published in the European scientific journal "ChemSusChem".
Please see below for the full press release.