Biosurfactant Production by Pseudomonas aeruginosa Strain LTR1 and its Application

Abstract

On the circumstances of the growing market of biosurfactants all over the globe, the presented study focused on the characterization of biosurfactants produced by newly isolated and reported as biosurfactant producer strain Pseudomonas aeruginosa LTR1. Additionally, production media and physiological factors are optimized using a one factor at a time (OFAT) approach for maximum biosurfactant production. Its efficacy for antimicrobial and emulsification activities was determined. P. aeruginosa LTR1 utilized all the carbon sources provided, and a maximum of 9.5 g/L of biosurfactant was produced in soybean oil supplemented minimal salts medium (MSM). The critical micelle concentration (CMC) was determined as 12 mg/L and can reduce the surface tension of the medium from 72 mN/m to 31 mN/M. The biosurfactant was characterized by biochemical analysis and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and was not a protein in nature, possibly a glycolipid type of biosurfactant. It has shown the good emulsification activities for various hydrocarbon tested here. In addition, it acts as an antibiofilm agent with the minimum inhibitory concentration required for 50 % biofilms reduction was 30.95 µg/mL suggesting the antimicrobial potential. The biosurfactant produced by Pseudomonas aeruginosa strain LTR1 has shown good surface-active properties, good emulsification, and antimicrobial activities, demonstrating its potential for application in various areas like the oil industry, especially in tank cleaning, bioremediation of spills at sea or soil, and candidates as antimicrobial.