PAD-TIE: Platform to Accelerate Discovery of Tailored Industrial Enzymes

Los Alamos National Laboratory’s PAD-TIE platform is an advanced screening system designed to accelerate the discovery and optimization of enzymes that break down polyethylene terephthalate (PET), one of the most widely used plastics. Traditional enzyme development is slow and requires testing individual enzymes under controlled conditions. PAD-TIE overcomes this limitation by simultaneously screening tens of thousands of enzyme variants under industrially relevant conditions for PET degradation.

Unlike conventional methods, PAD-TIE evaluates enzyme efficiency, stability, and production potential in a single process, ensuring that only the most viable candidates move forward. Validated in lab-scale bioreactors that replicate industrial recycling environments, PAD-TIE supports sustainable PET recycling and upcycling, breaking plastic down into its fundamental building blocks (monomers) for reuse: without the need for harsh chemicals or energy-intensive processes.

Validated in lab-scale bioreactors that replicate industrial recycling environments, PAD-TIE supports sustainable PET recycling and upcycling, breaking plastic down into its fundamental building blocks (monomers) for reuse: without the need for harsh chemicals or energy-intensive processes.

• Scalable High-Throughput Screening: Evaluates tens of thousands of enzyme variants simultaneously, accelerating discovery.
• Optimized for Industrial Use: Operates at the optimal temperature for enzymatic PET degradation and high plastic processing efficiency, ensuring compatibility with existing recycling infrastructure.
• Efficient Resource Use: Uses widely available reagents and eliminates enzyme purification in early screening, reducing material and labor costs.
• Comprehensive Performance Assessment: Simultaneously measures enzyme activity, stability, and production efficiency, reducing failure rates.
• Adaptable to Industry Needs: Can be optimized for various processing conditions, different PET compositions, and additives in plastic waste.

PAD-TIE is a laboratory platform developed at Los Alamos National Laboratory for the rapid discovery and optimization of enzymes that degrade polyethylene terephthalate (PET), a common plastic used in consumer packaging. The platform can accelerate enzyme development for PET breakdown by combining directed evolution, controlled genetic variation and selection, with a high-efficiency Petri dish-based screening system to rapidly identify top-performing candidates. This is done by evaluating large enzyme libraries under industrially relevant conditions where PET degradation is most effective. Optimized enzymes identified through this platform can break down PET into its monomers, that can be reused to create new materials, supporting more sustainable recycling processes without relying on harsh chemicals or high energy input.

PAD-TIE is designed for industry partners seeking scalable, enzyme-based solutions for plastic waste management and recycling, including:

• Recycling & Waste Management: Enhances PET recycling by breaking plastic down into reusable monomers.
• Bioremediation & Environmental: Supports plastic degradation in marine environments, landfills, and polluted sites.
• Polymer Manufacturers: Enables the integration of engineered enzymes into industrial plastic processing workflows.
• Bioplastics & Sustainable Materials: Contributes to the development of biodegradable plastics and ecofriendly alternatives.

Building on PAD-TIE’s capability to screen large enzyme libraries and validate candidates in small bioreactors at the laboratory scale, the next step is to identify partners interested in leveraging the platform for industrial applications, enzyme development, or sustainable recycling solutions.

• Test Performance: Testing the enzymes in larger bioreactors using post-consumer PET waste.
• Commercial Workflows: Partnering to integrate PAD-TIE into commercial recycling workflows
• Optimize Enzymes: Adapting the platform to optimize enzymes beyond PET degradation for additional plastic waste challenges.