Efficient Trapping and Degradation of Polyethylene Terephthalate Nanoplastics Using Enzyme‐Functionalized Bowl‐Shaped Janus Particles

Polyethylene terephthalate (PET) nanoplastics are pervasive aquatic contaminants due to their high dispersibility and persistence, yet their removal at extremely low concentrations remains challenging. Here, we report a “capture‐and‐degrade” strategy for PET nanoparticle degradation using enzyme‐functionalized bowl‐shaped Janus particles. Amphiphilic Janus particles featuring a hydrophobic concave surface were synthesized via interfacial emulsion polymerization. A thermostable PET hydrolase, HotPETase, fused with the hydrophobic anchor peptide LCI, was specifically immobilized on the concave region. This architecture efficiently captures PET nanoparticles from dilute systems, promoting enzyme–substrate colocalization and thereby enhancing their degradation. The strong interaction between the Janus particles and the HotPETase‐LCI fusion protein provides the immobilized enzyme with high operational activity and stability, enabling reuse for more than 17 cycles with over 90% of its initial activity retained. Furthermore, integration into a packed‐bed continuous‐flow reactor achieved 96% PET removal during 20 h of operation, corresponding to a space‐time conversion of 1.5 × 10 14 particles L −1 ·h −1 . This work establishes a scalable platform based on topology‐engineered Janus materials for PET nanoplastic remediation and may inspire new approaches for the capture and degradation of other nanoplastics from dilute conditions.

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Publication Details

Journal
Small Structures
Published
2026-07-27
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1002/sstr.70558
Primary Topic
Microplastics and Plastic Pollution
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
0.00

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article

Efficient Trapping and Degradation of Polyethylene Terephthalate Nanoplastics Using Enzyme‐Functionalized Bowl‐Shaped Janus Particles

Yifei Zhang, Yujing Ding, Chengyang Chu, Qian Sui et al.
Small Structures
Microplastics and Plastic Pollution
article

Efficient Trapping and Degradation of Polyethylene Terephthalate Nanoplastics Using Enzyme‐Functionalized Bowl‐Shaped Janus Particles

Yifei Zhang, Yujing Ding, Chengyang Chu, Qian Sui, Ekram Akram, Ruiqi Yan, Xin Su, Ke Wei, Qian Ding
article en

Abstract

Polyethylene terephthalate (PET) nanoplastics are pervasive aquatic contaminants due to their high dispersibility and persistence, yet their removal at extremely low concentrations remains challenging. Here, we report a “capture‐and‐degrade” strategy for PET nanoparticle degradation using enzyme‐functionalized bowl‐shaped Janus particles. Amphiphilic Janus particles featuring a hydrophobic concave surface were synthesized via interfacial emulsion polymerization. A thermostable PET hydrolase, HotPETase, fused with the hydrophobic anchor peptide LCI, was specifically immobilized on the concave region. This architecture efficiently captures PET nanoparticles from dilute systems, promoting enzyme–substrate colocalization and thereby enhancing their degradation. The strong interaction between the Janus particles and the HotPETase‐LCI fusion protein provides the immobilized enzyme with high operational activity and stability, enabling reuse for more than 17 cycles with over 90% of its initial activity retained. Furthermore, integration into a packed‐bed continuous‐flow reactor achieved 96% PET removal during 20 h of operation, corresponding to a space‐time conversion of 1.5 × 10 14 particles L −1 ·h −1 . This work establishes a scalable platform based on topology‐engineered Janus materials for PET nanoplastic remediation and may inspire new approaches for the capture and degradation of other nanoplastics from dilute conditions.

Small StructuresVol. 7(8)
Ministry of Ecology and Environment (CN), Beijing University of Chemical Technology (CN)
National Natural Science Foundation of China, Natural Science Foundation of Beijing Municipality, Beijing University of Chemical Technology
Openalex Percentile: Top 18%
Microplastics and Plastic Pollution
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