Genetically engineered fluorinated bioplastics from living cells produced by American Scientists

摘要

NATURAL organic compounds that contain fluorine are rare because living organisms—with a few exceptions—do not produce them. American scientists have now genetically engineered a microbial host for organofluorine metabolism, allowing it to produce a fluoridated intermediate known as a diketide. As reported in the journal Angewandte Chemie, the diketide could then be used as a monomer for the in vivo production of fluorinated bioplastics. Unlike nature, chemists use fluorine often. Teflon coatings for pans and water-repellent Gore-Tex jackets, both based on polytetrafluoroethylene, immediately spring to mind. Fluorine is also found in many agrochemicals, and about 20-30% of modern pharmaceuticals, ranging from antimalarial and cytostatic drugs to inhalation anesthetics, blood substitutes, and liquid ventilation agents.