What was done? I came across an interesting article yesterday titled “Biodegradation of Physicochemically Treated Polycarbonate by Fungi” published in Biomacromolecules. What this group essentially did was to isolate fungi from the environment by exposing them to conditions in which plastics were the only source of food. The group basically identified three fungi ( Phanerochaete chrysosporium, Engyodontium album and Pencillium spp. ) , and characterized some of the parameters by asking basic questions about: Efficacy changes when fungal isolates were exposed to certain pre-treatments (either heat or UV light). Growth of biomass (how much the fungi grew during this time) How much extracellular protein was secreted and a crude determination of the class proteins released Loss of mass of the piece of plastic Changes in physical, chemical and surface properties. Why is this important? I asked myself the same question until I realized what plastic they were working with: Bi...
