Hal S Alper

Jun 3, 2024 | nature.com | Hal S Alper

AbstractPlastic waste is an environmental challenge, but also presents a biotechnological opportunity as a unique carbon substrate. With modern biotechnological tools, it is possible to enable both recycling and upcycling. To realize a plastics bioeconomy, significant intrinsic barriers must be overcome using a combination of enzyme, strain, and process engineering. This article highlights advances, challenges, and opportunities for a variety of common plastics.

Mar 6, 2024 | nature.com | Simon d’Oelsnitz |Daniel Diaz |Daniel Díaz |Daniel Acosta |James M. Loy |Hal S Alper | +1 more

AbstractA major challenge to achieving industry-scale biomanufacturing of therapeutic alkaloids is the slow process of biocatalyst engineering. Amaryllidaceae alkaloids, such as the Alzheimer’s medication galantamine, are complex plant secondary metabolites with recognized therapeutic value. Due to their difficult synthesis they are regularly sourced by extraction and purification from the low-yielding daffodil Narcissus pseudonarcissus.