{"title":"Chitosan nanoparticles as adjuvants to enhance the biodegradation of PET by Ideonella sakaiensis","authors":"Zhichao Shi, Tingbiao Wu, Lihong Wu, Xiaomin Chi, Yingjuan Wang, Tingting Fan, Yuyang Jiang","doi":"10.1007/s00253-026-13899-7","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p>The escalating global crisis of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) pollution necessitates the development of efficient biological recycling strategies. While the bacterium <i>Ideonella sakaiensis</i> 1.2597 can utilize PET as a sole carbon source, its practical application as a biocatalyst is hampered by poor interfacial adhesion to hydrophobic plastic surfaces and limited degradation efficiency under ambient conditions. In this study, we developed chitosan nanoparticles (CS-NPs) via ionic crosslinking to serve as a novel electrostatic bridging adjuvant. The synthesized CS-NPs exhibited a uniform particle size of 360.1 ± 10.8 nm and a high positive zeta potential of + 40.1 ± 2.2 mV. Supplementation with an optimal dosage of CS-NPs (3 mL per 30 mL medium) significantly promoted the adhesion of <i>I. sakaiensis</i> to diverse PET substrates. Under optimized environmental conditions (28 °C, pH 7.0), CS-NPs were introduced as adhesion adjuvants, the fluorescence intensity of PET fluorescent microspheres decreased by 85.9% over 14 days compared to 58.9% without CS-NPs. Furthermore, application of the CS-NPs adjuvant to macroscopic PET films resulted in dense surface colonization and severe structural disruption, characterized by deep physical pitting and cracking. High-performance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS) confirmed the robust hydrolytic depolymerization of PET into its constituent monomers: terephthalic acid (TPA), mono(2-hydroxyethyl) terephthalate (MHET), and bis(2-hydroxyethyl) terephthalate (BHET). While challenges remain regarding degradation of CS-NPs environmental fate and microbial competition, this work provides the CS-NPs adjuvant as a promising tool for the bioremediation of PET pollution.</p><p><i>• </i><i>The development of an interfacial adjuvant chitosan nanoparticles.</i></p><p><i>• </i><i>Addition of chitosan nanoparticles enhanced the degradation efficiency of PET.</i></p><p><i>• </i><i>Chitosan nanoparticles achieve accelerated degradation through electrostatic attraction.</i></p>","PeriodicalId":8342,"journal":{"name":"Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology","volume":"110 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.7000,"publicationDate":"2026-06-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/s00253-026-13899-7.pdf","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology","FirstCategoryId":"5","ListUrlMain":"https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00253-026-13899-7","RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"2026/8/11 0:00:00","PubModel":"Epub","JCR":"Q2","JCRName":"BIOTECHNOLOGY & APPLIED MICROBIOLOGY","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
The escalating global crisis of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) pollution necessitates the development of efficient biological recycling strategies. While the bacterium Ideonella sakaiensis 1.2597 can utilize PET as a sole carbon source, its practical application as a biocatalyst is hampered by poor interfacial adhesion to hydrophobic plastic surfaces and limited degradation efficiency under ambient conditions. In this study, we developed chitosan nanoparticles (CS-NPs) via ionic crosslinking to serve as a novel electrostatic bridging adjuvant. The synthesized CS-NPs exhibited a uniform particle size of 360.1 ± 10.8 nm and a high positive zeta potential of + 40.1 ± 2.2 mV. Supplementation with an optimal dosage of CS-NPs (3 mL per 30 mL medium) significantly promoted the adhesion of I. sakaiensis to diverse PET substrates. Under optimized environmental conditions (28 °C, pH 7.0), CS-NPs were introduced as adhesion adjuvants, the fluorescence intensity of PET fluorescent microspheres decreased by 85.9% over 14 days compared to 58.9% without CS-NPs. Furthermore, application of the CS-NPs adjuvant to macroscopic PET films resulted in dense surface colonization and severe structural disruption, characterized by deep physical pitting and cracking. High-performance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS) confirmed the robust hydrolytic depolymerization of PET into its constituent monomers: terephthalic acid (TPA), mono(2-hydroxyethyl) terephthalate (MHET), and bis(2-hydroxyethyl) terephthalate (BHET). While challenges remain regarding degradation of CS-NPs environmental fate and microbial competition, this work provides the CS-NPs adjuvant as a promising tool for the bioremediation of PET pollution.
• The development of an interfacial adjuvant chitosan nanoparticles.
• Addition of chitosan nanoparticles enhanced the degradation efficiency of PET.
• Chitosan nanoparticles achieve accelerated degradation through electrostatic attraction.
期刊介绍：
Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology focusses on prokaryotic or eukaryotic cells, relevant enzymes and proteins; applied genetics and molecular biotechnology; genomics and proteomics; applied microbial and cell physiology; environmental biotechnology; process and products and more. The journal welcomes full-length papers and mini-reviews of new and emerging products, processes and technologies.
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