Latest news with #NatureChemistry
Yahoo
14 hours ago
- Health
- Yahoo
Bacteria can turn plastic waste into a painkiller
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. Tylenol could potentially be made greener and cheaper with the help of bacteria. Scientists were able to use a bacterial chemical reaction to convert a plastic water bottle into paracetamol with no environmental strain. This development could alter the way drugs are produced and provide a much-needed solution to the plastic pollution problem. The bacteria Escherichia coli or common in the gut microbiome, can be used to break down plastic into paracetamol, according to a study published in the journal Nature Chemistry. Paracetamol, or acetaminophen, is the main active ingredient in the painkiller Tylenol. It is generally produced using fossil fuels, namely crude oil, which has been known to worsen climate change. But "by merging chemistry and biology in this way for the first time, we can make paracetamol more sustainably and clean up plastic waste from the environment at the same time," said Stephen Wallace, a professor at the University of Edinburgh and the lead author of the study, to The Guardian. The researchers triggered a chemical reaction in known as the Lossen rearrangement that "until now had only been observed in test tubes," said Spanish newspaper El País. The was genetically modified to be able to break down polyethylene terephthalate (PET), a plastic used in food packaging and bottles, and ultimately produce paracetamol. This process can occur at room temperature and produces no carbon emissions. "It enables, for the first time, a pathway from plastic waste to paracetamol, which is not possible using biology alone, and it's not possible using chemistry alone," Wallace said to Science News. While it will take time before the painkiller can be widely produced using this method, "this could mark part of a broader shift toward more sustainable, biology-based manufacturing practices, both in the pharmaceutical industry and in plastic recycling," El País said. Plastic waste has been known to harm the environment and can pollute waterways and leach chemicals into the ecosystem. Microplastics have also been found almost everywhere on Earth and in our bodies. "I genuinely think this is quite an exciting sort of starting point for plastic waste upcycling," Wallace said. PET plastic "creates more than 350 million tons of waste annually," said a news release about the study. While PET recycling is possible, "existing processes create products that continue to contribute to plastic pollution worldwide." This research could be the solution to the pollution. The study's findings indicate that "PET plastic isn't just waste or a material destined to become more plastic," Wallace said in the release. "It can be transformed by microorganisms into valuable new products, including those with potential for treating disease." This is not the first time bacteria have been used to break down plastic, and it likely will not be the last. However, the ability to create medicine from plastic introduces a fresh area of research. "Based on what we've seen, it's highly likely that many — or even most — bacteria can perform these kinds of transmutations," Wallace said. "This opens up a whole new way of thinking about how we might use microbes as tiny chemical factories."
Japan Today
a day ago
- Health
- Japan Today
E.coli can turn plastic into painkillers, chemists discover
Paracetamol can be made by combining the bacteria and plastic waste, scientists have discovered Scientists have found a way to use the bacteria to convert plastic waste into a popular painkiller, a study said, though outside experts doubted the technique would make a dent in the fight against plastic pollution. Paracetamol, which is one of the most commonly used drugs worldwide, is made from the derivatives of fossil fuels, often by Asia-based subcontractors using cheap, polluting methods that contribute to climate change. The world is also facing an escalating crisis of plastic pollution, with countries set for another bruising round of negotiations in August in the hope of sealing an international treaty to reduce plastic waste. The British team of researchers behind the new study sought to find a solution to the two problems by roping in a third -- which is normally known for making people sick when they eat contaminated food. First the chemists used a molecule derived from PET plastic, which is used in bottles and many other plastic products the world over, to spark a chemical reaction in a strain of This created a molecule they called PABA, according to the Nature Chemistry study, which was partly funded by drug firm AstraZeneca. By genetically modifying the bacteria, the chemists were able to transform their molecule into acetaminophen, also known as paracetamol. "This work demonstrates that PET plastic isn't just waste or a material destined to become more plastic -- it can be transformed by microorganisms into valuable new products, including those with potential for treating disease," lead study Stephen Wallace said in a statement. Singaporean researchers not involved in the study praised how it combined synthetic and biological chemistry. But "several practical considerations remain" to take this idea beyond the proof-of-concept stage, they wrote in a linked commentary in the journal Nature Chemistry. The chemical reaction produces only a limited amount of PABA molecules, which "may be insufficient for industrial applications", they wrote. Melissa Valliant, communications director of the Beyond Plastics project of Bennington College in the United States, expressed skepticism. "A new 'plastic-eating bacteria' pops up in the news every few months and has been doing so for years," she told AFP. "These discoveries never scale up to anything significant enough to tackle the massive plastic pollution problem." This "crisis needs to be stopped at the source," she added, which means "companies and policymakers must reduce the amount of plastic being produced and used in the first place". © 2025 AFP
Arab Times
4 days ago
- Health
- Arab Times
Breakthrough study: Bacteria convert plastic waste into painkillers
LONDON, June 24: Researchers have discovered that bacteria can convert plastic waste into painkillers, offering a more sustainable way to produce these medicines. Chemists found that E. coli bacteria can create paracetamol (acetaminophen) from a substance made in the lab using plastic bottles. 'Many people don't realize paracetamol is currently made from oil,' said Professor Stephen Wallace, lead researcher at the University of Edinburgh. 'Our work shows that by combining chemistry and biology, we can produce paracetamol more sustainably while also helping to clean up plastic waste.' Published in Nature Chemistry, the study explains how the team discovered a chemical reaction known as the Lossen rearrangement — a reaction never before observed in nature — could occur inside living cells without harming them. The researchers started with polyethylene terephthalate (PET), a common plastic used in food packaging and bottles. Using environmentally friendly chemical methods, they converted PET into a new material. When this material was incubated with a harmless strain of E. coli, it was transformed into para-aminobenzoic acid (PABA), through a process involving the Lossen rearrangement. Typically, the Lossen rearrangement requires harsh lab conditions, but here it happened naturally in the presence of E. coli, catalyzed by phosphate inside the bacteria. PABA is vital for bacterial growth, especially for DNA synthesis, and is normally produced inside cells from other compounds. However, the E. coli in the experiment was genetically modified to block its usual production pathways, forcing the bacteria to use the PET-derived material instead. The researchers are excited by these findings, which suggest plastic waste can be turned into useful biological materials. 'It offers a way to completely 'hoover up' plastic waste,' Wallace said. Next, the team further engineered E. coli by adding two genes—one from mushrooms and one from soil bacteria—that enabled the bacteria to convert PABA into paracetamol. Using this engineered E. coli, the team produced paracetamol from the PET-based starting material in under 24 hours, achieving low emissions and up to 92% yield. While more work is needed to scale this process for commercial production, the results point to a practical future application. 'This method creates a pathway from plastic waste to paracetamol that neither biology nor chemistry alone could achieve,' Wallace said.
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Health
- Yahoo
Common bacteria could turn plastic waste into painkillers, study finds
Scientists have discovered that a strain of common faecal bacteria can convert plastic waste into the drug paracetamol, a finding that could lead to new recycling methods. Exposure to tiny plastic fragments, called microplastics, is linked to a range of health issues, like hormonal disruption and several types of cancer. Scientists have been experimenting with various methods to sustainably recycle plastic waste. Of the methods they have tested, the use of bacteria and their enzymes to produce desirable small molecules from plastic waste has shown promise. Microbes have a 'toolbox' of highly active chemicals integral to their metabolism which scientists hope to harness for the production of a range of industrial small molecules. Using microbes and their metabolic chemicals in different industries could lower the existing chemical manufacturing routes that heavily rely on diminishing fossil fuels. Scientists have found that a type of chemical reaction which takes place in living cells can be catalysed by phosphate molecules present in the gut bacteria E coli, known to cause urinary tract infections and gastric ailments. This chemical reaction, known as Lossen rearrangement, produces a type of nitrogen-containing organic compound essential for cell metabolism. 'The reaction occurs in vivo, under ambient conditions, is non-toxic to E coli and is catalysed by phosphate in cells,' scientists explained. In a study published on Sunday in the journal Nature Chemistry, researchers used various methods to degrade polyethylene terephthalate plastic bottles to produce the starting molecule needed for the Lossen rearrangement chemical reaction. They showed that the metabolic process inside cells could then remediate PET. Researchers revealed this plastic-derived molecule could be used as a starting material for producing paracetamol in E coli with a 92 per cent yield. This is the first time paracetamol has been produced from E coli using a waste product. 'The Lossen rearrangement substrate can also be synthesised from polyethylene terephthalate and applied to whole-cell biocatalytic reactions and fermentations generating industrial small molecules, including the drug paracetamol,' scientists said. Researchers hope the new technique could pave the way for a general strategy to remediate and upcycle plastic waste across ecosystems. They say the method outlined in the study could lead to better metabolic engineering for manufacturing such nitrogen-containing organic chemicals. Scientists say further research involving different types of bacteria and plastic may generate other useful products. 'Overall, this work expands the available toolbox of metabolic chemistry for small-molecule synthesis,' they wrote.
The Independent
4 days ago
- Health
- The Independent
Common bacteria could turn plastic waste into painkillers, study finds
Scientists have discovered that a strain of common faecal bacteria can convert plastic waste into the drug paracetamol, a finding that could lead to new recycling methods. Exposure to tiny plastic fragments, called microplastics, is linked to a range of health issues, like hormonal disruption and several types of cancer. Scientists have been experimenting with various methods to sustainably recycle plastic waste. Of the methods they have tested, the use of bacteria and their enzymes to produce desirable small molecules from plastic waste has shown promise. Microbes have a 'toolbox' of highly active chemicals integral to their metabolism which scientists hope to harness for the production of a range of industrial small molecules. Using microbes and their metabolic chemicals in different industries could lower the existing chemical manufacturing routes that heavily rely on diminishing fossil fuels. Scientists have found that a type of chemical reaction which takes place in living cells can be catalysed by phosphate molecules present in the gut bacteria E coli, known to cause urinary tract infections and gastric ailments. This chemical reaction, known as Lossen rearrangement, produces a type of nitrogen-containing organic compound essential for cell metabolism. 'The reaction occurs in vivo, under ambient conditions, is non-toxic to E coli and is catalysed by phosphate in cells,' scientists explained. In a study published on Sunday in the journal Nature Chemistry, researchers used various methods to degrade polyethylene terephthalate plastic bottles to produce the starting molecule needed for the Lossen rearrangement chemical reaction. They showed that the metabolic process inside cells could then remediate PET. Researchers revealed this plastic-derived molecule could be used as a starting material for producing paracetamol in E coli with a 92 per cent yield. This is the first time paracetamol has been produced from E coli using a waste product. 'The Lossen rearrangement substrate can also be synthesised from polyethylene terephthalate and applied to whole-cell biocatalytic reactions and fermentations generating industrial small molecules, including the drug paracetamol,' scientists said. Researchers hope the new technique could pave the way for a general strategy to remediate and upcycle plastic waste across ecosystems. They say the method outlined in the study could lead to better metabolic engineering for manufacturing such nitrogen-containing organic chemicals. Scientists say further research involving different types of bacteria and plastic may generate other useful products. 'Overall, this work expands the available toolbox of metabolic chemistry for small-molecule synthesis,' they wrote.
