mclPHAs
MCLPHAs, or medium-chain-length polyhydroxyalkanoates, are a class of biopolyesters produced by certain bacteria that consist of hydroxyalkanoate monomers with chain lengths typically in the six to fourteen carbon range. They are distinguished from short-chain-length PHAs, which contain mainly three to five carbon monomers. Common MCL-PHA monomers include 3-hydroxyhexanoate, 3-hydroxyheptanoate, 3-hydroxydodecanoate, and related units, which can be incorporated as homopolymers or copolymers to tune material properties.
Biosynthesis of MCLPHAs occurs in bacteria such as Pseudomonas species and related strains. Under conditions that
Material properties of MCLPHAs are typically more flexible and elastomeric than scl-PHAs, with lower crystallinity and
Challenges for MCLPHAs include improving production yields, achieving consistent monomer composition, and reducing production costs. Ongoing