Submission Date
7-19-2024
Document Type
Paper- Restricted to Campus Access
Department
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Faculty Mentor
Eric Williamsen
Project Description
The world is in crisis due to excess plastic waste. Each year, 400 tons are produced globally, and with no effective or safe way for their degradation, plastic waste is increasing uncontrollably. The increasing plastic waste is harming animals, ecosystems, and humanity. Previous research suggests that thermophiles, microbes that thrive between 50–140℃, can degrade polyethylene terephthalate (PET), a common plastic, due to their cutinase domains. Chromatographic techniques, techniques that separate mixtures using a mobile and stationary phase, can identify and quantify the rate of degradation of PET. For HPLC (high-performance liquid chromatography), we optimized the flow rate and mobile-phase composition and in GCMS (gas chromatography-mass spectrometry) the temperature programming. We successfully created methods for the separation, detection, and quantification of the enzymatic breakdown products of PET using GCMS (gas chromatography-mass spectrometry) and HPLC.
Recommended Citation
Hanna, Danielle, "Optimizing the Quantification of the Degradation of PET" (2024). Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Summer Fellows. 29.
https://digitalcommons.ursinus.edu/biochem_sum/29
Restricted
Available to Ursinus community only.
Comments
Presented during the 26th Annual Summer Fellows Symposium, July 19, 2024 at Ursinus College.