Scientists find "Pac-Man enzyme" that digests plastic and penicillin

Researchers at the University of Konstanz identified a bacterial enzyme with a wide-open active site that breaks down polyester bioplastics and penicillin. In lab tests bioplastics fully degraded in 250–330 days, while HDPE showed almost no degradation.

• The enzyme breaks polyesters into monomers and cleaves penicillin's beta-lactam ring
• LCAP, PHBV and PCL bioplastics degraded in 250–330 days; cellulose took about 80 days
• HDPE showed virtually no degradation over a year
• The finding hints at a possible link between plastic digestion and antibiotic resistance