MateriAlZ Seminar: Ting Xu
Wednesday, December 1st, 2021, 1:00 p.m. MST
Ting Xu
Professor of Chemistry & Materials Science and Engineering
University of California, Berkeley
"Plastics: A Bittersweet Tale of 20th Centenary"
Zoom link | Passcode: 919133
MateriAlZ Seminar website | YouTube | Twitter
Abstract
Since the perception of macromolecule concept in the 1920s, plastics have completely changed how we live and will continue to impact our daily life for years to come. Nearly 40% of synthetic polymers serve as packing materials and, ultimately, became the biggest contributor to the plastic waste crisis.1 Biodegradable plastics have been marketed to replace commodity plastics with increasing production and cost reduction. However, they are indifferentiable in landfills and in some cases, accelerated the formation of microplastics.2,3 We recently showed that by nanoscopically confining enzymes in semi-crystalline polyesters and exploiting enzyme-active-site features and enzyme-protectant interactions, processive depolymerization can be enabled as the primary degradation pathway with expanded substrate selectivity.4 These studies demonstrated the great potential of protein-based materials. They also raised questions on how to molecularly interface biological building blocks, such as proteins and biomachineries, with polymers. I will discuss our decade-long journey to understand inherent connections between synthetic and biological macromolecules and share evolving thoughts on how to build a harmonious future together.5,6
References: 1. Jambeck, J. R. et al. Plastic waste inputs from land into the ocean. Science 347, 768, 2015. 2. Haider, T. P. et al. Plastics of the future? the impact of biodegradable polymers on the environment and on society. Angew Chem Int Edit 58, 50, 2019. 3. Ganesh, M. et al Embedded enzymatic biomaterial degradation. Macromolecules 42, 2009. 4. DelRe C. et al. Near-complete depolymerization of polyesters with nano-dispersed enzymes. Nature, 592, 558, 2021. 5. Panganiban, B. et al. Random heteropolymers preserve protein function in foreign environments. Science 359, 1239, 2018. 6. Jiang, T. et al. Single-chain heteropolymers transport protons selectively and rapidly. Nature 577, 216, 2020.
Bio
Ting Xu received her Ph.D. from the Department of Polymer Science and Engineering from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst in 2004. Her postdoctoral training focused on de novo protein design, jointly between the University of Pennsylvania and the Cold Neutron for Biology and Technology (CNBT) team at NIST from 2004-2006. She joined the University of California, Berkeley in 2007 as assistant professor in both the Department of Material Sciences and Engineering and Department of Chemistry and rose to the rank of full professor in 2016. Prof. Xu's research interests rest at the interface among soft matter, biology, material chemistry and engineering. Prof. Xu is a fellow of the American Physical Society, American Chemical Society and serves on the Board of Directors of Materials Research Society since 2020. She is the recipient of awards including the 2008 3M Nontenured Faculty Award; 2008 DuPont Young Professor Award; 2009 Office of Naval Research Young Investigator Award; 2010 Li Ka Shing Woman Research Award; 2011 Camille-Dreyfus Scholar-Teacher Award; 2011 ACS Arthur K. Doolittle Award, 2018 Bakar Fellow and 2021 Bakar Prize.