University of Edinburgh converts PET into levodopa using E. coli
Turning trash into treatment? That's exactly what University of Edinburgh researchers have done: they've figured out how to turn old plastic bottles (yep, the PET kind) into levodopa, a key drug for Parkinson's disease.
Using specially engineered E. coli strains, the team converted PET-derived terephthalic acid (TPA) into levodopa.
The results just dropped in Nature Sustainability.
Edinburgh researchers say process remains lab-stage
This process is still in the lab, but it could make drug production greener and help tackle waste at the same time.
Researchers from the same lab had previously engineered E. coli to convert PET into paracetamol (acetaminophen), hinting at more possibilities for recycling plastics into useful meds.
Backed by the U.K.'s EPSRC, this project shows how science can give our everyday waste a second life—and maybe change how we make medicines in the future.