Mono(2-hydroxyethyl) terephthalic acid (MHET)

Mono(2-hydroxyethyl) terephthalic acid, commonly abbreviated as MHET, is a small molecule organic intermediate that plays a central role in the environmental degradation of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) plastic [10, 16]. It is not considered a therapeutic target in human medicine; rather, it is the primary substrate for the bacterial enzyme MHETase (EC 3.1.1.102), which further breaks it down into terephthalic acid and ethylene glycol [3, 18]. In the field of biotechnology, MHET is a high-priority target for engineering novel hydrolases and synthetic microbial pathways aimed at plastic waste recycling and upcycling [8, 14, 19]. While primarily an industrial and environmental molecule, research has indicated that certain terephthalate monoester metabolites can function as agonists for the Liver X Receptor alpha (LXRα), potentially influencing lipid metabolism and contributing to the development of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) [4]. Additionally, in the context of materials science and drug delivery, the term 'receptor' is sometimes used to describe synthetic supramolecular hosts, such as 'Texas-sized' molecular boxes, designed to selectively bind the mono-terephthalate anion for the creation of responsive supramolecular polymers [1, 7].

Other names

Mono(2-hydroxyethyl) terephthalateMHETMono-2-hydroxyethyl terephthalateMonoterephthalic acid4-(2-hydroxyethoxycarbonyl)benzoic acidMonomethyl terephthalateMonoethyl terephthalate

Acting as a substrate for enzymatic hydrolysis by MHETase to produce terephthalic acid and ethylene glycol; metabolic derivatives may act as agonists for the Liver X Receptor alpha (LXRα).