Plastizyme
noun ·Rare ·Advanced level
Definitions
- 1 Any of a type of molecularly imprinted polymer engineered to function as an enzyme, being a catalyst to aid breakdown of molecules, for industrial uses and in environmental remediation.
"Abstract: The chapter describes the concept of molecular imprinting. This technology allows the fabrication of artificial polymeric receptors applicable in many areas of biotechnology. […] in solid phase extraction or immunoassays these polymers (MIP [molecularly imprinted polymers]) are able to compete with traditional materials such as biological antibodies. Furthermore, polymers molecularly imprinted with so-called transition state analogue templates can be applied as catalysts. In other words, these kind of polymers may be used as artificial antibodies (plastibodies) or biomimicking enzymes (plastizymes). Compared to their biological counterparts, MIP offer different advantages such as simplicity in manufacturing and durability."
- 2 Any of many plastic-degrading enzymes: ones capable of catalyzing the breakdown of bonds in synthetic polymers. Some have evolved in nature (within plastivores) and others have been bioengineered.
"This study presents the first integrated reference catalog of plastic-contaminated environments obtained using an insilico workflow that could play a significant role in discovering new plastizymes. […] This research presents a comprehensive overview of an integrated plastic-contaminated environment reference catalog that includes taxa, genes, proteins, and plastic-degrading enzymes (plastizymes).]"
Example
More examples"Abstract: The chapter describes the concept of molecular imprinting. This technology allows the fabrication of artificial polymeric receptors applicable in many areas of biotechnology. […] in solid phase extraction or immunoassays these polymers (MIP [molecularly imprinted polymers]) are able to compete with traditional materials such as biological antibodies. Furthermore, polymers molecularly imprinted with so-called transition state analogue templates can be applied as catalysts. In other words, these kind of polymers may be used as artificial antibodies (plastibodies) or biomimicking enzymes (plastizymes). Compared to their biological counterparts, MIP offer different advantages such as simplicity in manufacturing and durability."
Etymology
Blend of plasti(c) + (en)zyme.
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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.