효소에 의한 고분자의 생분해성 평가의 기초자료 확립을 위해 여러 가지 미생물에서 추출한 lipases를 이용해 polycaprolactone(PCL)의 효소에 의한 생분해성을 조사하였다. Pseudomonas sp. 에서 추출한 lipase가 PCL을 가장 잘 가수분해시킴을 알았다. 그리고, PCL의 생분해성 평가를 위해 기질 농도, 효소 농도와 반응 시간을 최적화하였다. 기질 농도 30g/L, 효소 농도 30mg/L, 반응 시간 15-20시간이 효소에 의한 PCL의 생분해 최적 조건이었다. 또한, 필름, coarse powder, fine powder 형태의 PCL 시료를 가지고 효소에 의한 생분해에 미치는 고분자 표면적의 효과를 관찰하였다. 고분자의 표면적이 넓을수록, 즉 fine powder가 생분해가 가장 잘 일어났다.

The enzymatic degradation of polycaprolactone(PCL) was investigated using lipases obtained from different microorganisms by measurement of weight loss and total organic carbon(TOC) concentration. Lipase from Pseudomonas sp. was able to degrade PCL most efficiently. In this study, three major variable, enzyme concentration, substrate concentration, and reaction time, were optimized to enhance biodegradation of PCL. The optimal condition of diodegradation of PCL was achieved at the substrate concentration of 30g/L, the enzyme concentration of 30mg/L, and the degradation time of 15-20hours. Three different forms of PCL, film, fine powder, and coarse powder, were investigated to understand the effect of surface area on the degradation rate. PCL with large surface area(fine powder) was degraded most efficiently by lipase obtained from Pseudomonas sp.

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