Ithaca College

The chemistry department seminar series 2007 invites Chris Nomura, Tuesday, October 2, at 4:30 p.m. "Chemistry of Sustainability: Elements for Improved Biodegradable Plastics Production."

Polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs) are microbially produced biodegradable polyesters with a wide variety of applications and ecological benefits compared to non-biodegradable, petroleum-based plastics. Despite the ecological benefits associated with PHAs, their production costs are
significantly higher than petroleum-based plastics. Our lab takes a multi-disciplinary approach utilizing microbiology, biochemistry, molecular biology, and polymer chemistry, in order to develop systems and methodologies to make these biodegradable polymers more cost-competitive with petroleum-based polymers.