plastifind

DNHS-SanDiego-CA

October 21, 2023
plastifind, pet-degradation, tpa-sensitive-plasmid-biosensor
high-school

DNHS-SanDiego-CA # PlastiFind # Every year around 20 million tons of plastic waste leaks into aquatic ecosystems. Polyethylene terephthalate (PET) is a commonly used thermoplastic resin. Global accumulation of plastic can be counteracted by improving PET degradation in the environment. However, scientists currently lack efficient methods to measure PET hydrolysis, making it difficult to research further in this field. The goal of this project is to develop a sensitive plasmid biosensor to detect terephthalic acid (TPA), a byproduct of PET hydrolysis. ...