Supplementary data for the article: Djapovic, M.; Milivojevic, D.; Ilic-Tomic, T.; Lješević, M.; Nikolaivits, E.; Topakas, E.; Maslak, V.; Nikodinovic-Runic, J. Synthesis and Characterization of Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET) Precursors and Potential Degradation Products: Toxicity Study and Application in Discovery of Novel PETases. Chemosphere 2021, 275, 130005. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chemosphere.2021.130005.

Supplementary material for: [https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chemosphere.2021.130005]Related to published version: [https://imagine.imgge.bg.ac.rs/handle/123456789/1415]Related to accepted version: [https://imagine.imgge.bg.ac.rs/handle/123456789/1732

Supplementary data for: "Synthesis and characterization of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) precursors and potential degradation products: Toxicity study and application in discovery of novel PETases"

Supplementary material for: Djapovic, M.; Milivojevic, D.; Ilic-Tomic, T.; Lješević, M.; Nikolaivits, E.; Topakas, E.; Maslak, V.; Nikodinovic-Runic, J. Synthesis and Characterization of Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET) Precursors and Potential Degradation Products: Toxicity Study and Application in Discovery of Novel PETases. Chemosphere 2021, 275, 130005. [https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chemosphere.2021.130005]Published version of the article: [https://cer.ihtm.bg.ac.rs/handle/123456789/4658]Accepted version of the article: [https://cer.ihtm.bg.ac.rs/handle/123456789/4659

New Labeled PET Analogues Enable the Functional Screening and Characterization of PET-Degrading Enzymes

The discovery and engineering of novel biocatalysts capable of depolymerizing polyethylene terephthalate (PET) have gained significant attention since the need for green technologies to combat plastic pollution has become increasingly urgent. This study focuses on the development of novel substrates that can indicate enzymes with PET hydrolytic activity, streamlining the process of enzyme evaluation and selection. Four novel substrates, mimicking the structure of PET, were chemically synthesized and labeled with fluorogenic or chromogenic moieties, enabling the direct analysis of candidate enzymes without complex preparatory or analysis steps. The fluorogenic substrates, mUPET1, mUPET2, and mUPET3, not only identify enzymes capable of PET breakdown but also differentiate those with exceptional performance on the polymer, such as the benchmark PETase, LCCICCG. Among the substrates, the chromogenic p-NPhPET3 stands out as a reliable tool for screening both pure and crude enzymes, offering advantages over fluorogenic substrates such as ease of assay using UV–vis spectroscopy and compatibility with crude enzyme samples. However, ferulic acid esterases and mono-(2-hydroxyethyl) terephthalate esterases (MHETases), which exhibit remarkably high affinity for PET oligomers, also show high catalytic activity on these substrates. The substrates introduced in this study hold significant value in the function-based screening and characterization of enzymes that degrade PET, as well as the the potential to be used in screening mutant libraries derived from directed evolution experiments. Following this approach, a rapid and dependable assay method can be carried out using basic laboratory infrastructure, eliminating the necessity for intricate preparatory procedures before analysis.The Supporting Information [https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acssuschemeng.4c00143]This is the peer reviewed version of the paper: Taxeidis, G., Djapovic, M., Nikolaivits, E., Maslak, V., Nikodinovic-Runic, J., & Topakas, E. (2024). New Labeled PET Analogues Enable the Functional Screening and Characterization of PET-Degrading Enzymes. ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering. [https://doi.org/10.1021/acssuschemeng.4c00143

Synthesis and characterization of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) precursors and potential degradation products: Toxicity study and application in discovery of novel PETases

Polyethylene terephthalate (PET) is widely used material and as such became highly enriched in nature. It is generally considered inert and safe plastic, but due to the recent increased efforts to break-down PET using biotechnological approaches, we realized the scarcity of information about structural analysis of possible degradation products and their ecotoxicological assessment. Therefore, in this study, 11 compounds belonging to the group of PET precursors and possible degradation products have been comprehensively characterized. Seven of these compounds including 1-(2-hydroxyethyl)-4-methylterephthalate, ethylene glycol bis(methyl terephthalate), methyl bis(2-hydroxyethyl terephtahalate), 1,4-benzenedicarboxylic acid, 1,4-bis[2-[[4-(methoxycarbonyl)benzoyl]oxy]ethyl] ester and methyl tris(2-hydroxyethyl terephthalate) corresponding to mono-, 1.5-, di-, 2,5- and trimer of PET were synthetized and structurally characterized for the first time. In-silico druglikeness and physico-chemical properties of these compounds were predicted using variety of platforms. No antimicrobial properties were detected even at 1000 μg/mL. Ecotoxicological impact of the compounds against marine bacteria Allivibrio fischeri proved that the 6 out of 11 tested PET-associated compounds may be classified as harmful to aquatic microorganisms, with PET trimer being one of the most toxic. In comparison, most of the compounds were not toxic on human lung fibroblasts (MRC-5) at 200 μg/mL with inhibiting concentration (IC50) values of 30 μg/mL and 50 μg/mL determined for PET dimer and trimer. Only three of these compounds including PET monomer were toxic to nematode Caenorhabditis elegans at high concentration of 500 μg/mL. In terms of the applicative potential, PET dimer can be used as suitable substrate for the screening, identification and characterization of novel PET-depolymerizing enzymes.This is the peer-reviewed version of the article: Djapovic, M.; Milivojevic, D.; Ilic-Tomic, T.; Lješević, M.; Nikolaivits, E.; Topakas, E.; Maslak, V.; Nikodinovic-Runic, J. Synthesis and Characterization of Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET) Precursors and Potential Degradation Products: Toxicity Study and Application in Discovery of Novel PETases. Chemosphere 2021, 275, 130005. [https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chemosphere.2021.130005]Supplementary material: [https://imagine.imgge.bg.ac.rs/handle/123456789/1733