POLYMERS OF ISOPRENE FROM RENEWABLE RESOURCES

• Main Authors: FEHER FRANK J, MCAULIFFE JOSEPH C, LA DUCA RICHARD, WHITED GREGORY M, MIASNIKOV ANDREI, SANFORD KARL J, CERVIN MARGUERITE, VALLE FERNANDO, PUHALA AARON S, CHOTANI GOPAL K, PERES CAROLINE
• Format: Patent
• Language: English; Korean
• Published: 13.04.2011
• Subjects: BEER; BIOCHEMISTRY; CHEMISTRY; COMPOSITIONS BASED THEREON; ENZYMOLOGY; FERMENTATION OR ENZYME-USING PROCESSES TO SYNTHESISE A DESIREDCHEMICAL COMPOUND OR COMPOSITION OR TO SEPARATE OPTICAL ISOMERSFROM A RACEMIC MIXTURE; MACROMOLECULAR COMPOUNDS OBTAINED BY REACTIONS ONLY INVOLVINGCARBON-TO-CARBON UNSATURATED BONDS; METALLURGY; MICROBIOLOGY; MUTATION OR GENETIC ENGINEERING; ORGANIC MACROMOLECULAR COMPOUNDS; SPIRITS; THEIR PREPARATION OR CHEMICAL WORKING-UP; VINEGAR; WINE

It has been found that certain cells in culture can convert more than about 0.002 percent of the carbon available in the cell culture medium into isoprene. These cells have a heterologous nucleic acid that (i) encodes an isoprene synthase polypeptide and (ii) is operably linked to a promoter. The isoprene produced in such a cultured medium can then be recovered and polymerized into synthetic rubbers and other useful polymeric materials. The synthetic isoprene containing polymers of this invention offer the benefit of being verifiable as to being derived from non-petrochemical based resources. They can also be analytically distinguished from rubbers that come from natural sources. The present invention more specifically discloses a polyisoprene polymer which is comprised of repeat units that are derived from isoprene monomer, wherein the polyisoprene polymer has δ13C value of greater than −22%.