With a double life as an indispensible consumer commodity but also an environmental scourge, plastics are omnipresent in the modern age, produced at massive scales and a constant source of political and societal debate. Compared to the commonly used polypropylene-based plastics, polyester plastics using poly((R)-β-hydroxybutyrate) (PHB) are biodegradable and therefore have much less of a harmfu...

Based on direct sucrose conversion, the bacterium Burkholderia sacchari is an excellent producer of the microbial homopolyester poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) (PHB). Restrictions of the strain's wild type in metabolizing structurally related 3-hydroxyvalerate (3HV) precursors towards 3HV-containing polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA) copolyester calls for alternatives. We demonstrate the highly productive bios...

The potential of constructs comprising induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells and biopolymers can be high for neurological surgery practice, if the systematic activity of neuronal regeneration is clarified. This study shows a guided differentiation of iPS cells toward neurons in neuron growth factor (NGF)-grafted poly(ε-caprolactone) (PCL)-poly(β-hydroxybutyrate) (PHB) scaffolds. The porosity of ...

Legionella pneumophila, the causative agent of Legionnaires' disease, is an intracellular parasite of eukaryotic cells. In the environment, it colonizes amoebae. After being inhaled into the human lung, the bacteria infect and damage alveolar cells in a way that is mechanistically similar to the amoeba infection. Several L. pneumophila traits, among those the Dot/Icm type IVB protein secretion ...

Abstract This study describes the preparation, physicochemical characterization and biological studies of polymeric delivery systems proanthocyanidins (PCAN) extracted from Pelargonium sidoides for potential use as wound dressings. In this 20 wt% PCAN demonstrated good antimicrobial activity against Staphylococcus aures, a gram-positive pathogen. Poly(D,L-lactide) atactic poly[(R,S)-3-hydroxybu...