Poly-3-hydroxy butyric acid interaction with the transgenic flax fibers: FT-IR and Raman spectra of the composite extracted from a GM flax

The FT-IR and FT-Raman studies have been performed on commercial 3-hydroxy-butyric acid, commercial poly-3-hydroxy butyric acid as well as poly-3-hydroxy butyric acid (PHB) produced by bacteria. The data were compared to those obtained for poly-3-hydroxy butyric acid extracted from natural and genetically modified flax. Genetically modified flax was generated by expression of three bacterial genes coding for synthesis of poly-3-hydroxy butyric acid. Thus transgenic flaxes were enhanced with different amount of the PHB.The discussion of polymer structure and vibrational properties has been done in order to get insight into differences among these materials. The interaction between the cellulose of flax fibers and embedded poly-3-hydroxybutyric acid has been also discussed.The spectroscopic data provide evidences for structural changes in cellulose and in PHB when synthesized in fibers. Based on this data it is suggesting that cellulose and PHB interact by hydrogen and ester bonds.