title: Poly-γ-glutamic acid: production, properties and applications.
abstract: Poly-γ-glutamic acid (γ-PGA) is a naturally occurring biopolymer made up of repeating units of l-glutamic acid, d-glutamic acid or both. γ-PGA can exhibit different properties (conformational states, enantiomeric properties and molecular mass). Owing to its biodegradable, non-toxic and non-immunogenic properties, it has been used successfully in the food, medical and wastewater industries. Amongst other novel applications, it has the potential to be used for protein crystallization, as a soft tissue adhesive and a non-viral vector for safe gene delivery. This review focuses on the production, properties and applications of γ-PGA. Each application of γ-PGA utilizes specific properties attributed to various forms of γ-PGA. As a result of its growing applications, more strains of bacteria need to be investigated for γ-PGA production to obtain high yields of γ-PGA with different properties. Many medical applications (especially drug delivery) have exploited α-PGA. As γ-PGA is essentially different from α-PGA (i.e. it does not involve a chemical modification step and is not susceptible to proteases), it could be better utilized for such medical applications. Optimization of γ-PGA with respect to cost of production, molecular mass and conformational/enantiomeric properties is a major step in making its application practical. Analyses of γ-PGA production and knowledge of the enzymes and genes involved in γ-PGA production will not only help increase productivity whilst reducing the cost of production, but also help to understand the mechanism by which γ-PGA is effective in numerous applications.
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Science and Engineering, University of Wolverhampton, Wulfruna Street, Wolverhampton WV1 1LY, UK.
authors.forename: Adetoro
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ogunleye
authors.affiliation: Aber Instruments, Science Park, Aberystwyth SY23 3AH, UK.
authors.forename: Aditya
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Bhat
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Science and Engineering, University of Wolverhampton, Wulfruna Street, Wolverhampton WV1 1LY, UK.
authors.forename: Victor U
authors.initials: VU
authors.lastname: Irorere
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Science and Engineering, University of Wolverhampton, Wulfruna Street, Wolverhampton WV1 1LY, UK.
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Hill
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Science and Engineering, University of Wolverhampton, Wulfruna Street, Wolverhampton WV1 1LY, UK.
authors.forename: Craig
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Williams
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Science and Engineering, University of Wolverhampton, Wulfruna Street, Wolverhampton WV1 1LY, UK.
authors.forename: Iza
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Radecka
mesh_terms: D001407:Bacillus / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D016503:Drug Delivery Systems; D005285:Fermentation; D005516:Food Microbiology; D008968:Molecular Conformation; D011099:Polyglutamic Acid / Q000031:analogs & derivatives* / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism; D058105:Polymerization
chemical_list: C511775:poly(gamma-glutamic acid); D011099:Polyglutamic Acid