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Using Yeast to Build a Better Plastic
December 8, 2010Dr. Richard Gross, professor of chemical and biological science at Polytechnic Institute of New York University (NYU-Poly), has developed a method for producing a strong, highly ductile bioplastic using yeast and one of nature's simplest building blocks: fatty acids of plant oils. The findings were published in the Journal of the American Chemical Society. Like all plastics, the new material is a polymer — a large molecule comprised of smaller, repeating units called monomers. In this case, the monomer itself is relatively new. The units are called omega-hydroxyfatty acids, and when strung together to form a polymer, they can produce a biologically friendly plastic. Until now, omega-hydroxyfatty acids were difficult and expensive to produce using traditional methods, prohibiting their widespread use. Full release
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