Panorama of poly-ε-lysine

Sandip B. Bankar, Rekha S. Singhal

Research output: Contribution to journalReview Articlepeer-review

54 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Poly-ε-lysine (ε-PL), (S)-poly(imino(2-amino-1-oxo-1,6- hexanediyl)), is a naturally occurring homopolymer of l-lysine with a degree of polymerization of 25-35, and characterized by peptide bonds between the carboxyl and ε-amino groups of l-lysine. ε-PL is currently receiving much attention due to its wide applications in chemical, pharmaceutical, food, medical, clinical chemistry, biotechnology and other industries. Moreover, it is water-soluble, biodegradable, heat stable, edible and nontoxic towards humans. The present review discusses the production, recovery, characterization, biodegradation and applications of ε-PL. Production of ε-PL by fermentation is detailed, along with its industrial problems such as biodegradation. Various purification techniques for higher recovery of ε-PL are also described here. Issues of ε-PL degrading enzyme and its characterization studies have also been addressed. Molecular genetics as a tool for development of highly productive strains is also discussed herein. Applications of ε-PL in various industries showed to have an increasing impact on bioprocessing.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)8586-8603
Number of pages18
JournalRSC Advances
Volume3
Issue number23
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 21 Jun 2013
MoE publication typeA2 Review article, Literature review, Systematic review

Keywords

  • Polylysine
  • biopolymer
  • food biotechnology

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