Comparison of biodegradation of poly(ethylene glycol)s and poly(propylene glycol)s

Proposed Oxidative Metabolic Pathway for Polypropylene Glycol inSphingobiumsp. Strain PW-1

“…When the strain is grown on PEG, PEG-DH activity should be probably induced, suggesting that oxidation of PPG and PEG is catalyzed by different dehydrogenases specific to PPG and PEG respectively. These results were in accordance with previous results, 2,4) that oxidation of alcohol groups is the primary step in biodegradation of dipropylene glycol and PPG. The metabolic pathway (Fig.…”

“…1) PPGs are widely used in the manufacture of polyurethanes, surfactants, cosmetics, and pharmaceuticals. [2][3][4] The production of these compounds is still increasing, and hence their outflow to the environment is also increasing.…”

The Relationship Between the Chemical Structure of Poly(alkylene glycol)s and Their Aerobic Biodegradability in an Aqueous Environment

“…The results of PEG biodegradability are consistent with those reported by Bernhard et al [16], but they differ from the results obtained by Zgola-Grześkowiak et al [14], who assessed the relative rates of PEG and PPG biodegradation. These differences most likely result from the differences in applied analytical procedures.…”

“…This does not hold true for poly(ethylene glycol)s, mainly because of their excessively high pour points. PEG 400, a product with an average molecular weight of 350 Da, was included in the tests for comparative purposes because PEG biodegradability is commonly described in the literature [11,[13][14][15][16][17].…”

“…However, in the past two decades, investigations have been reported that are devoted to the assessment of PEG biodegradability, yet rarely do they address PPG biodegradability [11][12][13][14][15][16][17]; these investigations have also reported on the determination of mechanisms that rule PEG or PPG biodegradation. There are only a few reports on the biodegradability of copolymeric PAGs, and there is a lack of data on its dependence on the chemical structure of these polymers [1,18,19].…”