DIVERSIFIED APPLICATIONS OF POLYHYDROXYALKANOATES

Polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs) are biodegradable and biocompatible polyesters which are accumulated intracellularly to levels as high as 90% of the cell dry weight (CDW) under conditions of nutrient stress by numerous Gram positive bacteria, Gram negative bacteria as well as some archaebacteria. They are multitalented biopolymers with suitability of diverse applications. The primary applications of PHAs were as substitute for replacements of petrochemical based polymers to be used in packaging and coating applications. Nowadays the rising interests of different research groups in PHA the number of applications of PHA’s became extremely expanded. This review emphasizes the established and emerging applications of PHAs in industrial field, medical application such as in tissue engineering, drug delivery, agricultural applications, applications as biofuel, applications in protein purification and other enzyme purification. Today several companies are involved production of PHA in large scale as well as PHA related research and development activities.