POLY(BETA-HYDROXYALKANOATE) COPOLYMERS CONTAINING BROMINATED REPEATING UNITS PRODUCED BY PSEUDOMONAS-OLEOVORANS

Poly(beta-hydroxyalkanoate) (PHA) copolymers containing brominated repeating units were produced by Pseudomonas oleovorans grown with mixtures of an omega-bromoalkanoic acid and either nonanoic acid (NA) or octanoic acid (OA). Cells grown solely with an omega-bromoalkanoic acid did not produce any PHA. The mole percent of brominated units in the PHAs obtained varied from 2% to 37% depending on the nonbrominated carbon substrate used as cosubstrates and on the ratio of the two substrates. The mole fractions of brominated units in the PHAs obtained from cells grown with mixtures of OA and an omega-bromoalkanoic acid were lower than those in the PHAs obtained from cells grown with mixtures of NA and an omega-bromoalkanoic acid, but the molecular weights of the PHAs were essentially the same regardless of carbon sources used. In addition, the molecular weights and the fractions of brominated units in the copolymers produced were constant throughout the growth.