Periodic Reporting for period 4 - NaCRe (Nature-inspired Circular Recycling for Polymers)
Okres sprawozdawczy: 2025-07-01 do 2025-12-31
NaCRe (Nature Inspired Circular Recycling) is a project that aims at developing recycling approaches for biological and soft matter that are inspired by the way Nature recycles proteins. We can first clarify that a protein is a sequence-defined polymer, that is a long macromolecule composed of a specific sequence of building blocks called amino acids. When a living being feeds it ingests a random mixture of proteins. Such a mixture is digested by decomposing the proteins back into their constituents, the amino acids, that are then used by the cell machinery to produce new proteins. It is important to notice that these initial mixtures is quite random (digestible proteins) and that the produced proteins are not related to the eaten ones. They are the proteins that the cell needs in that specific moment, furthermore the produced proteins are indistinguishable from any other protein, i.e. there is no loss of quality in the process.
Plastics are materials made of polymer, i.e. macromolecules composed of a series of monomers that repeat along a chain (or chain-like) backbone, thus proteins are a special type of polymers.
We can contrast Nature approach to protein recycling to our approach to recycling polymers, almost always we need to separate polymers depending on their chemical composition (we cannot afford a random mixture) and then we either produce again the starting materials (almost always at a loss of quality) or we produce a chemical substance to be re-used in creating other molecules(alas always the same).
NaCRe’s ambition is to reproduce Nature’s approach to recycling in laboratory settings, we plan to do so in (1) proteins, (2) DNA, and finally possibly also (3) in synthetic polymers. The first two goals have been fully met and a proof of principle for the third goal has also been performed.
In proteins the ambition is to start from a random mixture of proteins, especially focusing on proteins that are used as materials (e.g. silk) and to produce a new protein that has nothing to do with the initial one. The goals would be to produce a protein that itself can be used as a material. To achieve this goal the process must be efficient and scalable to quantities that allow for the building of a material whose properties can be tested. This goal has been fully met.
For DNA the goal is to show that a new this type of recycling can be performed with any sequence defined polymer. This has been proven and we have also shown that the resulting approach can be used to recycle spent PCR kits.
The final -very ambitious- goal was to try to produce a synthetic equivalent of protein and DNA. The true goal of NaCRe is to propose to the community a new approach to recycling that is inspired by Nature and has clear advantages relative to what we do currently. We have shown that there are approaches that can be used to recycle mixture of polymers suitably engineered.
Plastics are materials made of polymer, i.e. macromolecules composed of a series of monomers that repeat along a chain (or chain-like) backbone, thus proteins are a special type of polymers.
We can contrast Nature approach to protein recycling to our approach to recycling polymers, almost always we need to separate polymers depending on their chemical composition (we cannot afford a random mixture) and then we either produce again the starting materials (almost always at a loss of quality) or we produce a chemical substance to be re-used in creating other molecules(alas always the same).
NaCRe’s ambition is to reproduce Nature’s approach to recycling in laboratory settings, we plan to do so in (1) proteins, (2) DNA, and finally possibly also (3) in synthetic polymers. The first two goals have been fully met and a proof of principle for the third goal has also been performed.
In proteins the ambition is to start from a random mixture of proteins, especially focusing on proteins that are used as materials (e.g. silk) and to produce a new protein that has nothing to do with the initial one. The goals would be to produce a protein that itself can be used as a material. To achieve this goal the process must be efficient and scalable to quantities that allow for the building of a material whose properties can be tested. This goal has been fully met.
For DNA the goal is to show that a new this type of recycling can be performed with any sequence defined polymer. This has been proven and we have also shown that the resulting approach can be used to recycle spent PCR kits.
The final -very ambitious- goal was to try to produce a synthetic equivalent of protein and DNA. The true goal of NaCRe is to propose to the community a new approach to recycling that is inspired by Nature and has clear advantages relative to what we do currently. We have shown that there are approaches that can be used to recycle mixture of polymers suitably engineered.
The project is structured in three work packages that we can shortly call Biology, Robotics, and Chemistry.
The Biology work package’s goals were to recycle in the laboratory proteins and DNA. We have successfully recycled proteins in the laboratory and have successfully scaled up the process to the milligrams scale. With the proteins achieved we have been able to produce a hydrogel.
We have also successfully recycled DNA showing that is possible to start from inexpensive calf DNA and convert it in any DNA desired. We have also shown that a slight modification of the technique allows for the recycling of the genetic material in PCR (polymerase chain reaction) kits.
In the Robotics work package we have developed a completely automated process to perform the optimisation of all of the steps that are needed in this type of recycling. We have successfully built and implemented a robot that has the capabilities to perform this task. We have tested the robot by developing an approach to measure the CMC (critical micelle concentration) for a system.
In the Chemistry work package we have a goal to learn from Biology and try to develop synthetic polymers that could be recycled via a NaCRe process. The first step has been that of developing three classes of polymers that are (a) very different among them but that (b) can be depolymerized all together starting from a random mixture and then (c) repolymerized completely orthogonally. We have achieved in this goal.
The work performed in NaCRe has pushed us to develop a protein-based materials that can be used as packaging. This material has suitable mechanical properties and has oxygen and water-vapour barrier properties that compete with existing materials, while being recyclable either chemically, or via NaCRe, or by decomposition in the environment. We believe that this new material (and more generically) this material class has significant potential commercially.
We have published all our results and have disseminated it in multiple scientific and public talks.
The Biology work package’s goals were to recycle in the laboratory proteins and DNA. We have successfully recycled proteins in the laboratory and have successfully scaled up the process to the milligrams scale. With the proteins achieved we have been able to produce a hydrogel.
We have also successfully recycled DNA showing that is possible to start from inexpensive calf DNA and convert it in any DNA desired. We have also shown that a slight modification of the technique allows for the recycling of the genetic material in PCR (polymerase chain reaction) kits.
In the Robotics work package we have developed a completely automated process to perform the optimisation of all of the steps that are needed in this type of recycling. We have successfully built and implemented a robot that has the capabilities to perform this task. We have tested the robot by developing an approach to measure the CMC (critical micelle concentration) for a system.
In the Chemistry work package we have a goal to learn from Biology and try to develop synthetic polymers that could be recycled via a NaCRe process. The first step has been that of developing three classes of polymers that are (a) very different among them but that (b) can be depolymerized all together starting from a random mixture and then (c) repolymerized completely orthogonally. We have achieved in this goal.
The work performed in NaCRe has pushed us to develop a protein-based materials that can be used as packaging. This material has suitable mechanical properties and has oxygen and water-vapour barrier properties that compete with existing materials, while being recyclable either chemically, or via NaCRe, or by decomposition in the environment. We believe that this new material (and more generically) this material class has significant potential commercially.
We have published all our results and have disseminated it in multiple scientific and public talks.
At present NaCRe has shown for the first time that it is possible to recycle a random mixture of proteins into a completely different protein that in turn can be used as a new material or as a biochemical compound. The independence from the starting material’s mixture and the versatility in the product make this results a conceptual progress beyond the state of the art.
The fact that we have shown that this result can be expanded to DNA shows that this concept is true for all sequence-defined polymers. The simplification of the result towards orthogonal chemistry allows its applicability to synthetic polymers.
The fact that we have shown that this result can be expanded to DNA shows that this concept is true for all sequence-defined polymers. The simplification of the result towards orthogonal chemistry allows its applicability to synthetic polymers.