JOBIMB, 2021, Vol 9, No 1, 8-18 - 8 - This work is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). Biodegradation of PEGs: A review Nubli Suhaimi 1 , Mohd Arif Syed 1 , Nor Aripin Shamaan 2 and Ahmad Razi Othman 3 * 1 Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Biotechnology and Biomolecular Sciences, Universiti Putra Malaysia, 43400 UPM Serdang, Selangor, D.E, Malaysia. 2 Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Universiti Sains Islam Malaysia, 55100 USIM, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. 3 Department of Chemical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering and Built Environment, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, 43600 UKM Bangi, Selangor, D.E, Malaysia. . *Corresponding author: Dr. Ahmad Razi Othman, Department of Chemical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering and Built Environment, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, 43600 UKM Bangi, Selangor, D.E, Malaysia. Email: ahmadrazi@ukm.edu.my INTRODUCTION Polyethylene glycols is utilised in various areas are hydro-soluble polymers with a common HO (CH2CH2O)nCH2CH2OH, which vary in molecular weights solely from one another. These polymers in industrial goods are so widespread that they are regarded a significant contaminant along with household trash in the environment [1]. As a result, the number and quality of human sperm, genital anomalies and the incidence of breast cancer attributable to oil-based polymers have decreased. One of the chemical by-products thought to be transmitted to women feeding their boys via breast milk is dioxin, a highly carcinogenic and poisonous by-product of the process of plastics production. The combustion of plastics, in particular PVC releases dioxins and furans into the environment. Dioxin may also be absorbed in soil and water and the water is contaminated and harmful. Therefore, traditional plastic is a significant environmental issue from production through disposal. The need for biodegradable polymers continues to grow with rising awareness of waste issues and their effects on the environment [2–10]. In addition, some researchers are looking for microorganisms capable of degrading current non-biodegradable polymers such as polyvinyl chloride, polyethylene, etc. The method in which nature recycles trash or breaks organic matter into nutrients which may be utilised by another creature is biodegradation. "Degradation" implies decay, and the prefix of the organic signifies a wide variety of dead matter-eating, recycled bacteria, fungus, insects, worms and other creatures. In nature, there is no waste since everything is recycled where waste products of one organism are food for another and provide nutrients and energy when organic waste is broken down. It is a cyclical process, in which organic elements break down much HISTORY Received: 12 th February 2021 Received in revised form: 14 th June 2021 Accepted: 23 rd July 2021 ABSTRACT A variety of applications involving animals and humans make use of polyethylene glycol (PEG). Because the toxicity of various PEGs is becoming increasingly apparent and has been documented several times, their removal from polluted regions is urgently required. Several studies have shown and advocated that PEG biodegradation by microorganisms may be a viable approach for remediating PEG-contaminated landfills. As a result of Malaysia's huge number of landfills, which is likely to expand in the future, it is believed that PEG contamination would rise as well, and the use of PEG-degrading microorganisms may benefit the country. This review aimed to summarize and update information on PEG-degrading microorganisms so that the information compiled can benefit local researchers in isolating more efficient PEG-degraders. The absorption of PEGS into energy under aerobic and anaerobic systems includes a variety of enzyme chains, which will present a challenge that needs to be addressed in future isolation of PEG-degraders and the elucidation of the degradation mechanisms. KEYWORDS PEG PEG-degrading bacteria Toxicity PEG-degrading enzymes Bioremediation JOURNAL OF BIOCHEMISTRY, MICROBIOLOGY AND BIOTECHNOLOGY Website: http://journal.hibiscuspublisher.com/index.php/JOBIMB/index JOBIMB VOL 9 NO 1 2021 ARID5B GENE PRODUCT