Living plastic with a built-in kill switch can self-destruct on command
Chinese researchers embedded dormant Bacillus subtilis spores in polycaprolactone to create a 'living plastic' with a built-in kill switch. When exposed to warm nutrient broth (~50°C), the spores activate and two enzyme-producing strains—Candida antarctica lipase and Burkholderia cepacia lipase—cooperate to cut long polymer chains and then digest the fragments, fully degrading the film in about six days without leaving microplastics. A wearable electrode prototype showed the material could form recoverable electronics before dissolving; however, the approach uses a relatively easy-to-degrade polymer and requires a lab-like trigger, limiting practicality for real-world plastics or consumer use.