Call for biotechnological approach to degrade plastic in the era of COVID-19 pandemic

Abstract

Plastic pollution is a global issue and has become a major concern since Coronavirus disease (COVID)-19. In developing nations, landfilling and illegal waste disposal are typical ways to dispose of COVID-19-infected material. These technologies worsen plastic pollution and other human and animal health problems. Plastic degrades in light and heat, generating hazardous primary and secondary micro-plastic. Certain bacteria can degrade artificial polymers using genes, enzymes, and metabolic pathways. Microorganisms including bacteria degrade petrochemical plastics slowly. High molecular weight, strong chemical bonds, and excessive hydrophobicity reduce plastic biodegradation. There is not enough study on genes, enzymes, and bacteria-plastic interactions. Synthetic biology, metabolic engineering, and bioinformatics methods have been created to biodegrade synthetic polymers. This review will focus on how microorganisms' degrading capacity can be increased using recent biotechnological techniques.

Keywords: BHET, bis(2-hydroxyethyl; Bacteria; COVID-19; COVID-19, Coronavirus disease-19; FTIR, Fourier-transform infrared; HDPE, High-density polyethene; LDPE, Low-density polyethene; MHET, Mono(2-hydroxyethyl; MP, Microplastics; Microorganisms; NP, Nanoplastics; PE, Polyethene; PES, Polyethylene succinate; PET, Polyethylene terephthalate; PP, Polypropylene; PPE, Personal protective equipment; PS, Polystyrene; PVC, Polyvinyl chloride; Plastic degradation; Plastic pollution; TCA, Tricarboxylic acid; TPA, Terephthalic acid.