Enzymatic polymerization: Recent advances toward sustainable polymer synthesis

Abstract

Enzymatic polymerization has emerged as a sustainable strategy for synthesizing biodegradable, biocompatible polymers, addressing critical environmental challenges posed by conventional petroleum-based materials. This review comprehensively explores advancements from the past five years, spotlighting six pivotal enzymes lipase, horseradish peroxidase, laccase, glucose oxidase, glucosyltransferase, and phosphorylase-alongside synergistic multi-enzymatic systems that enable complex polymerization cascades. Diverging from prior reviews focused on individual enzymes or specific polymer classes (e.g., polyesters, polyamides), our work provides a systematic classification of enzymatic polymerization mechanisms, emphasizing substrate specificity, reaction efficiency, and product diversity. Integrating advances in enzyme engineering, cascade catalysis, and green chemistry, this analysis outlines strategies to customize polymer architectures, identifies challenges in scaling enzymatic processes, and underscores opportunities for industrial applications. It advocates interdisciplinary innovation to advance sustainable polymer synthesis aligned with circular economy principles, emphasizing enzymatic methods' transformative potential for eco-friendly manufacturing paradigms.