Bacterial biofilms on biopolymeric sorbent supports for environmental bioremediation

Bioremediation encompasses a broad range of environmental biotechnology, which require multidisciplinary approaches through implementation of innovative tools to the natural biological process occurring in soil, water and air. Immobilization of hydrocarbon-degrading microorganisms on biodegradable sorbent supports significantly promotes bioremediation processes. Recently ecofriendly, low cost bioremediation devices based on polylactic acid (PLA) and polycaprolactone (PCL) membranes hosting a biodegrading bacterial biofilms were obtained[1]. This work investigates the higher effectiveness of immobilizing hydrocarbon-degrading bacteria compared to that of planktonic cells. Soil hydrocarbon (HC) degrading Actinobacteria Nocardia cyriacigeorgica strain SoB, Gordonia amicalis strain SoCg[2], and the marine hydrocarbonoclastic Alcanivorax borkumensis strain AU3-AA-7[3] were immobilized on PLA and PCL membranes and tested on hexadecane. The capacity of adhesion and proliferation of these biodegrading biofilms within the biopolymers were evaluated at various time points (5, 10, 15, and 30 incubation days) using scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The SEM images revealed that PLA and PCL nanofibers were nearly completely covered by a complex three-dimensional bacterial film for all tested strains. Quantification of total biomass (estimated as total dsDNA) confirmed biofilm growth up to 30 days of incubation. Crude oil biodegradation ability of biofilms-membranes systems, assessed by Gas Chromatography-FID analysis, demonstrated the removal of over 60% of the oil after 5 days of incubation, outperforming free-living bacteria by 24%. Viable plate counts showed that bacterial biofilms adsorbed on biopolymers were still viable after 30 days, indicating their potential for long-term applications.