Polyurethane

Polyurethane (PUR, PU) are polymers composed of organic units joined by carbamate (urethane) links. Found in rigid and flexible foams, varnishes and coatings, adhesives, electrical potting compounds, and fibers such as spandex and PUL. Produced by reacting an isocyanate with a polyol. Since a polyurethane contains two types of monomers, which polymerize one after the other, they are classed as alternating copolymers. Both the isocyanates and polyols used to make a polyurethane contain two or more functional groups per molecule.The ester bonds in polyester-polyurethanes can be hydrolysed by cutinases and other carboxylesterase. The urethanase which hydrolyses low molecular weight dicarbamates resulting from chemical glycolysis of polyether-polyurethane are not alpha\/beta hydrolases but amidases (Branson 2023)