In situ observation of heterogeneous melting of poly[(R)-3-hydroxybutyrate] single crystals by temperature-controlled atomic force microscopy

Biodegradability of Poly(hydroxyalkanoate) Materials

Poly(hydroxyalkanoate) (PHA), which is produced from renewable carbon resources by many microorganisms, is an environmentally compatible polymeric material and can be processed into films and fibers. Biodegradation of PHA material occurs due to the action of extracellular PHA depolymerase secreted from microorganisms in various natural environments. A key step in determining the overall enzymatic or environmental degradation rate of PHA material is the degradation of PHA lamellar crystals in materials; hence, the degradation mechanism of PHA lamellar crystals has been studied in detail over the last two decades. In this review, the relationship between crystal structure and enzymatic degradation behavior, in particular degradation rates, of films and fibers for PHA is described.

Morphological study on thermal treatment and degradation behaviors of solution-grown poly(l-lactide) single crystals

Morphological changes of solution-grown crystals (SGCs) of poly(l-lactide) (PLLA) following thermal treatment and enzymatic degradation were investigated using atomic force microscopy in terms of defects in the crystals. PLLA SGCs were grown from a dilute solution of acetonitrile at 5 degrees C. The obtained solution-grown monolamellar crystals have a lozenge-shaped morphology containing unique dimensions, with one side measuring 12 microm. To investigate enzymatic degradation behavior, PLLA SGCs were incubated in buffered solution with proteinase-K at 37 degrees C. The initial stage of enzymatic degradation of PLLA SGCs with proteinase-K occurs in loosely folding chains at the surface of the crystal. Thermally treated PLLA SGCs below the melting temperature showed an increase of the lamellar thickness of the SGCs at the treated temperature and partial surface erosion following enzyme exposure. These results indicate that less ordered chains exist throughout the lamellae and their thermal-induced chain extension makes them more susceptible to enzyme attack.

Enzymatic processes for biodegradation of poly(hydroxyalkanoate)s crystals

Poly(hydroxyalkanoate)s (PHAs) have attracted much attention as environmentally compatible polymeric materials that can be produced from renewable carbon resources. Biodegradation of PHA materials occurs by the function of extracellular PHA depolymerase secreted from microorganisms. Thus, elucidation of the enzymatic degradation mechanism for PHA materials is important to design PHA materials with desirable properties and controlled biodegradability. The solid PHA polymer is a water-insoluble substrate but PHA depolymerases are soluble in water. Therefore, the enzymatic degradation of PHA materials is a heterogeneous reaction on the material’s surface. Two distinct processes are involved during the degradation, namely, adsorption of the enzyme on the surface of PHA material and the subsequent hydrolysis of polymer chains. Atomic force microscopy (AFM) is a powerful tool that has been used for the quantitative analysis of PHA crystal degradation. AFM enables the characterization of the crystal surface nanostructure in a buffer solution. By using in-situ (real-time) AFM observations, we recently succeeded in observing the degradation processes of PHA crystals. Subsequently, we were also able to investigate the degradation rates of PHA crystals using the same technique. In this review, we have attempted to give an overview concerning the direct visualization of the adsorption, as well as the hydrolysis reactions of PHA depolymerases at the nanometer scale. In addition, we present other analytical techniques besides AFM as a complimentary approach to analyze the effect of enzyme adsorption on PHA crystals.Key words: poly(hydroxyalkanoate) (PHA), enzymatic degradation, lamellar crystal, PHA depolymerase.

Enzymatic degradation processes of lamellar crystals in thin films for poly[(R)-3-hydroxybutyric acid] and its copolymers revealed by real-time atomic force microscopy

Enzymatic degradation processes of flat-on lamellar crystals in melt-crystallized thin films of poly[(R)-3-hydroxybutyric acid] (P(3HB)) and its copolymers were characterized by real-time atomic force microscopy (AFM) in a phosphate buffer solution containing PHB depolymerase from Ralstonia pickettii T1. Fiberlike crystals with regular intervals were generated along the crystallographic a axis at the end of lamellar crystals during the enzymatic degradation. The morphologies and sizes of the fiberlike crystals were markedly dependent on the compositions of comonomer units in the polyesters. Length, width, interval, and thickness of the fiberlike crystals after the enzymatic degradation for 2 h were measured by AFM, and the dimensions were related to the solid-state structures of P(3HB) and its copolymers. The width and thickness decreased at the tip of fiberlike crystals, indicating that the enzymatic degradation of crystals takes place not only along the a axis but also along the b and c axes. These results from AFM measurement were compared with the data on crystal size by wide-angle X-ray diffraction, and on lamellar thickness and long period by small-angle X-ray scattering. In addition, the enzymatic erosion rate of flat-on lamellar crystals along the a axis was measured from real-time AFM height images. A schematic glacier model for the enzymatic degradation of flat-on lamellar crystals of P(3HB) by PHB depolymerase has been proposed on the basis of the AFM observations.

Annealing and melting behavior of poly(l-lactic acid) single crystals as revealed by in situ atomic force microscopy

In situ annealing and melting of folded-chain single crystals of poly(l-lactic acid) (PLLA) was examined by temperature-controlled atomic force microscopy (AFM). Prominent changes in the crystal appearance during annealing could be followed in real time by the AFM at temperatures above the original crystallization temperature. Thickening of the crystal edges could be occasionally observed, and this indicates that the crystal edges are less perfect than the central, well-ordered regions. At higher annealing temperatures, melting of the unthickened part started. The melting of the unthickened region progressed from the boundaries of the thickened portion normal to the growth face, rather than to the folding surfaces. In addition, it is suggested that melting also initiates at defective or distorted sites in the crystal as revealed by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and AFM.