Ultrahigh-molecular-weight Polyhydroxyalkanoates: Microbial Production and Mechanical Properties

Abstract

Due to problems such as climate change and marine plastic pollution, biodegradable bioplastics have gained growing attention. Polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs) are intracellular storage polymers in some bacteria and archaea for energy and can be used as thermoplastics. Particularly, ultrahigh-molecular-weight PHAs, with weight average molecular weight of more than 3 million, have excellent mechanical properties. This review introduces outline of microbial production of ultra-high molecular weight PHAs and mechanical properties.