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RIKEN Center for Sustainable Resource Science Bioplastic Research Team

Team Leader: Hideki Abe (Ph.D.)

Research Summary

Hideki  Abe

Our team aims to provide high-performance and specific functional bioplastic materials as environmental conscious polymeric materials. Particularly, paying attention to the biopolyesters produced by microorganisms, the advanced technology enable to bring out their potential and use as a practical plastic materials has been developed. We also employ various biomass substances to create novel polymeric materials, followed with biopolyesters. We achieve to construct the methodology of molecular design for bioplastics to predict their properties and functions, and new technology of efficient and precise bioplastic synthesis.

Main Research Fields

  • Chemistry

Related Research Fields

  • Engineering
  • Polymer chemistry
  • Green/Environmental chemistry

Keywords

  • Bioplastics
  • Polymer synthesis
  • Biomass resources
  • Polymer/Textile materials

Selected Publications

  • 1. Kumagai, S., Hayashi, S., Katsuragi, A., Imada, M., Sato, K., Abe, H., Asakura, N., and Takenaka, Y.:
    "One-Pot Synthesis of Marine-Biodegradable Poly(Ethylene Succinate)-Based Ester Amide Copolymers Containing Amino Acid"
    ACS Appl. Polym. Mater. 6, 8339-8347 (2024)
  • 2. Kumagai, S., Hayashi, S., Katsuragi, A., Imada, M., Sato, K., Abe, H., Asakura, N., and Takenaka, Y.:
    "Improving the marine biodegradability of poly(alkylene succinate)-based copolymers"
    Polym. J. 56, 419-429 (2024)
  • 3. Mierzati, M., Miyahara, Y., Curial, B., Nomura CT., Taguchi, S., Abe, H., and Tsuge, T.:
    "Tacticity Characterization of Biosynthesized Polyhydroxyalkanoates Containing (S)- and (R)-3-Hydroxy-2-Methylpropionate Units"
    Biomacromolecules 25, 444-454 (2024)
  • 4. Jeeply, IF., Goto, T., Sudesh, K., and Abe, H.:
    "Biodegradable block copolymer as compatibilizer and blend component of poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyhexanoate)-based polyester blends"
    Eur. Polym. J. 196, 112314 (2023)
  • 5. Ceneviva, LVS., Mierzati, M., Miyahara, Y., Nomura, CT., Taguchi, S., Abe, H., and Tsuge, T.:
    "Poly(3-mercapto-2-methylpropionate), a Novel alpha-Methylated Bio-Polythioester with Rubber-like Elasticity, and Its Copolymer with 2-Hydroxybutyrate: Biosynthesis and Characterization"
    Bioengineering-Basel 9, 228 (2022)
  • 6. Sasanami, Y., Honda, M., Nishiki, H., Tachibana, K., Abe, H., Hokamura, A., and Yamada, M.:
    "Purification and Characterization of an Enzyme that Degrades Polyamide 4 into gamma-Aminobutyric Acid Oligomers from Pseudomonas sp. TNN1"
    Polym. Degrad. Stab. 197, 109868 (2022)
  • 7. Goto, T., and Abe, H.:
    "Substituent Effects on Thermal and Mechanical Properties of Resorcinol-Based Semiaromatic Polyesters
    Macromol. Chem. Phys. 223, 2100355 (2022)
  • 8. Furutate, S., Abe, H., and Tsuge, T.:
    "Thermal properties of poly(3-hydroxy-2-methylbutyrate-co-3-hydroxybutyrate) with narrow comonomer-unit compositional distributions"
    Polym. J. 53, 1451-1457 (2021)
  • 9. Jeepery, I.F., Sudesh, K., and Abe, H.:
    "Miscibility and enzymatic degradability of poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyhexanoate)-based polyester blends by PHB depolymerase and lipase"
    Polym. Degrad. Stab. 192, 109692 (2021)
  • 10. Imada, M., Takenaka, Y., Tsuge, T., and Abe, H.:
    "Copolymers incorporated with b-substituted acrylate synthesized by organo-catalyzed group-transfer polymerization"
    Polym. J. 53, 989-999 (2021)

Related Links

Lab Members

Principal investigator

Hideki Abe
Team Leader

Core members

Tomohiro Hiraishi
Senior Research Scientist
Masahiro Fujita
Senior Research Scientist
Yasumasa Takenaka
Research Scientist
Senri Hayashi
Postdoctoral Researcher
Shin Inagaki
Postdoctoral Researcher
Sumito Kumagai
Technical Scientist
Ayan Yeosi Bartels-Ellis
International Program Associate
Naoko Nakata
Technical Staff II

Contact Information

601 Main Research Building
2-1 Hirosawa, Wako, Saitama 351-0198, Japan
Tel: +81-(0)48-467-9394

Email: habe@riken.jp

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