@article {47650,
	title = {One-pot bioconversion of tomato waste into poly-gamma-glutamic acid (gamma-PGA) biopolymer by a novel biocatalyst},
	journal = {ACS Sustainable Chemistry \& Engineering},
	volume = {9},
	year = {2021},
	month = {NOV },
	pages = {14330-14334},
	type = {Article},
	abstract = {Landfilling of rotten tomatoes can lead to environmental instability and a huge economic loss to the producers. This letter reports an effective valorization of tomato waste into a promising biopolymer, i.e., poly-gamma-glutamic acid (gamma-PGA) by a novel biocatalyst Bacillus paralicheniformis NCIM 5769. The gamma-PGA is one of the most expensive biopolymers with multifarious applications in wound healing, drug delivery, and regenerative medicine fields. However, its adoption into various applications is finite due to its exorbitant production cost. Herein, rotten tomatoes (without additional nutrient supplementation) served as the chassis for the fermentative production of 40 g/L of highly pure gamma-PGA within 48 h at ambient temperature. Further, NMR, DSC, and TGA confirmed the purity of synthesized gamma-PGA identical to standard gamma-PGA. This process has potential in the commercialization of.-PGA by significantly reducing the production cost, followed by the effective utilization of tomato waste leading to United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 12 (i.e., ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns).},
	keywords = {Commercialization, Poly-gamma-glutamic acid, Rotten tomatoes, United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, Waste utilization},
	issn = {2168-0485},
	doi = {10.1021/acssuschemeng.1c05362},
	author = {Nair, Pranav G. and Joseph, Emmanuel and Killi, Naresh and Konchada, Sravanya and Nisal, Anuya and Gundloori, Rathna Venkata Naga and Dharne, Mahesh S.}
}
