Scientists Reprogram Bacteria to Transform Plastic Trash into Powerful Painkillers

Image Credit: University of Edinburgh

Turning trash into Tylenol might sound like something out of a sci-fi novel, but scientists at the University of Edinburgh have made it real. In a fascinating twist on biotechnology, researchers have managed to convert discarded plastic bottles into acetaminophen, the active ingredient in over-the-counter painkillers like Tylenol and Panadol.

The magic begins with polyethylene terephthalate, or PET, which is the type of plastic commonly used in water bottles and food packaging. Using well-established chemical techniques, the team first broke down the PET into a simpler compound. That compound was then introduced into a culture of genetically modified E. coli—yes, the same bacteria more often associated with foodborne illness.

“We’re able to transform a prolific environmental and societal waste into such a globally important medication in a way that’s completely impossible, using chemistry alone or using biology alone,” says study coauthor Stephen Wallace, a chemical biotechnologist at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland. 

Thanks to a tailored set of enzymes, the modified bacteria were able to convert the PET-derived precursor into acetaminophen, and they did it with an efficiency of 92 per cent. The process hinges on an old-school bit of chemistry called the Lossen rearrangement, a transformation scientists have known about for over a century. Normally performed in a lab using test tubes and flasks, this time it was pulled off inside living cells.

The research team is now partnering with pharmaceutical companies, including AstraZeneca, which supported the study, to explore how this method could scale up for industrial use.

This isn't the first time scientists have looked to bacteria for help in tackling plastic pollution. Previous studies have shown that certain microbes in wastewater can digest plastics, converting them into carbon-based nutrients.