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Salgado CA, Pereira Vidigal PM, Dantas Vanetti MC. Biodegradation of polyurethanes by Staphylococcus warneri and by microbial co-culture. CHEMOSPHERE 2024; 359:142169. [PMID: 38710416 DOI: 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2024.142169] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/07/2023] [Revised: 03/06/2024] [Accepted: 04/26/2024] [Indexed: 05/08/2024]
Abstract
With the increasing production and use of polyurethanes (PUs), it is necessary to develop sustainable techniques for the remediation of plastic pollution. The use of microorganisms capable of biodegrading PUs may be an environmentally desirable solution for controlling these plastic contaminants. To contribute to the discovery of alternatives for the mitigation of plastics in the environment, this study aimed to explore the potential of StaphylococcuswarneriUFV_01.21, isolated from the gut of Galleria mellonellalarvae, for biodegradation of PU in pure culture and microbial co-culture with Serratia liquefaciensL135. S. warneri grew using Impranil® PU as the sole carbon source in pure culture and co-culture. With six days of incubation, the biodegradation of Impranil® in Luria Bertani broth was 96, 88 and 76%, while in minimal medium, it was 58, 54 and 42% for S. warneri, S. liquefaciens, and co-culture, respectively. In addition, S. warneri in pure culture or co-culture was able to biodegrade, adhere and form biofilms on the surfaces of Impranil® disks and poly[4,4'-methylenebis (phenyl isocyanate)-alt-1,4-butanediol/di(propylene glycol)/polycaprolactone] (PCLMDI) films. Scanning electron microscopy also revealed biodegradation by detecting the formation of cracks, furrows, pores, and roughness on the surfaces of inoculated PU, both with pure culture and microbial co-culture. This study is the first to demonstrate the potential of S. warneriin PU biodegradation.
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Magaña-Montiel N, Muriel-Millán LF, Pardo-López L. XTT assay for detection of bacterial metabolic activity in water-based polyester polyurethane. PLoS One 2024; 19:e0303210. [PMID: 38843174 PMCID: PMC11156301 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0303210] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/02/2024] [Accepted: 04/21/2024] [Indexed: 06/09/2024] Open
Abstract
Cellular metabolic activity can be detected by tetrazolium-based colorimetric assays, which rely on dehydrogenase enzymes from living cells to reduce tetrazolium compounds into colored formazan products. Although these methods have been used in different fields of microbiology, their application to the detection of bacteria with plastic-degrading activity has not been well documented. Here, we report a microplate-adapted method for the detection of bacteria metabolically active on the commercial polyester polyurethane (PU) Impranil®DLN using the tetrazolium salt 2,3-bis [2-methyloxy-4-nitro-5-sulfophenyl]-2H-tetrazolium-5-carboxanilide (XTT). Bacterial cells that are active on PU reduce XTT to a water-soluble orange dye, which can be quantitatively measured using a microplate reader. We used the Pseudomonas putida KT2440 strain as a study model. Its metabolic activity on Impranil detected by our novel method was further verified by Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) analyses. Measurements of the absorbance of reduced XTT at 470 nm in microplate wells were not affected by the colloidal properties of Impranil or cell density. In summary, we provide here an easy and high-throughput method for screening bacteria active on PU that can be adapted to other plastic substrates.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nallely Magaña-Montiel
- Departamento de Microbiología Molecular, Instituto de Biotecnología, Cuernavaca, Morelos, México
| | | | - Liliana Pardo-López
- Departamento de Microbiología Molecular, Instituto de Biotecnología, Cuernavaca, Morelos, México
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Allemann MN, Tessman M, Reindel J, Scofield GB, Evans P, Pomeroy RS, Burkart MD, Mayfield SP, Simkovsky R. Rapid biodegradation of microplastics generated from bio-based thermoplastic polyurethane. Sci Rep 2024; 14:6036. [PMID: 38472254 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-56492-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/02/2024] [Accepted: 03/07/2024] [Indexed: 03/14/2024] Open
Abstract
The accumulation of microplastics in various ecosystems has now been well documented and recent evidence suggests detrimental effects on various biological processes due to this pollution. Accumulation of microplastics in the natural environment is ultimately due to the chemical nature of widely used petroleum-based plastic polymers, which typically are inaccessible to biological processing. One way to mitigate this crisis is adoption of plastics that biodegrade if released into natural environments. In this work, we generated microplastic particles from a bio-based, biodegradable thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU-FC1) and demonstrated their rapid biodegradation via direct visualization and respirometry. Furthermore, we isolated multiple bacterial strains capable of using TPU-FC1 as a sole carbon source and characterized their depolymerization products. To visualize biodegradation of TPU materials as real-world products, we generated TPU-coated cotton fabric and an injection molded phone case and documented biodegradation by direct visualization and scanning electron microscopy (SEM), both of which indicated clear structural degradation of these materials and significant biofilm formation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marco N Allemann
- Algenesis Corporation, 11760 Sorrento Valley Rd. Suite J, San Diego, CA, 92121, USA
| | - Marissa Tessman
- Algenesis Corporation, 11760 Sorrento Valley Rd. Suite J, San Diego, CA, 92121, USA
| | - Jaysen Reindel
- Algenesis Corporation, 11760 Sorrento Valley Rd. Suite J, San Diego, CA, 92121, USA
| | - Gordon B Scofield
- Algenesis Corporation, 11760 Sorrento Valley Rd. Suite J, San Diego, CA, 92121, USA
| | - Payton Evans
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California, San Diego, 9500 Gilman Drive, La Jolla, CA, 92093, USA
| | - Robert S Pomeroy
- Algenesis Corporation, 11760 Sorrento Valley Rd. Suite J, San Diego, CA, 92121, USA
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California, San Diego, 9500 Gilman Drive, La Jolla, CA, 92093, USA
| | - Michael D Burkart
- Algenesis Corporation, 11760 Sorrento Valley Rd. Suite J, San Diego, CA, 92121, USA
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California, San Diego, 9500 Gilman Drive, La Jolla, CA, 92093, USA
| | - Stephen P Mayfield
- Algenesis Corporation, 11760 Sorrento Valley Rd. Suite J, San Diego, CA, 92121, USA
- Division of Biological Sciences, University of California, San Diego, 9500 Gilman Drive, La Jolla, CA, 92093, USA
| | - Ryan Simkovsky
- Algenesis Corporation, 11760 Sorrento Valley Rd. Suite J, San Diego, CA, 92121, USA.
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Skleničková K, Suchopárová E, Abbrent S, Pokorný V, Kočková O, Nevoralová M, Cajthaml T, Strejček M, Uhlík O, Halecký M, Beneš H. Biodegradation of aliphatic polyurethane foams in soil: Influence of amide linkages and supramolecular structure. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2024; 912:169062. [PMID: 38061651 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.169062] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/18/2023] [Revised: 11/22/2023] [Accepted: 11/30/2023] [Indexed: 01/18/2024]
Abstract
Polyurethane (PU) foams are classified as physically nonrecyclable thermosets. The current effort of sustainable and eco-friendly production makes it essential to explore methods of better waste management, for instance by modifying the structure of these frequently used polymers to enhance their microbial degradability. The presence of ester links is known to be a crucial prerequisite for the biodegradability of PU foams. However, the impact of other hydrolysable groups (urethane, urea and amide) occurred in PU materials, as well as the supramolecular structure of the PU network and the cellular morphology of PU foams, is still relatively unexplored. In this work, fully aliphatic PU foams with and without hydrolyzable amide linkages were prepared and their aerobic biodegradation was investigated using a six-month soil burial test. Besides the variable chemical composition of the PU foams, the influence of their different supramolecular arrangement and cellular morphologies on the extent of biodegradation was also evaluated. Throughout the soil burial test, the release of carbon dioxide, and enzyme activities of proteases, esterases, and ureases were measured. At the same time, phospho-lipid fatty acids (PLFA) analysis was conducted together with an assessment of microbial community composition achieved by analysing the genetic information from the 16S rRNA gene and ITS2 region sequencing. The results revealed a mineralization rate of 30-50 % for the PU foams, indicating a significant level of degradation as well as indicating that PU foams can be utilized by soil microorganisms as a source of both energy and nutrients. Importantly, microbial biomass remained unaffected, suggesting that there was no toxicity associated with the degradation products of the PU foams. It was further confirmed that ester linkages in PU foam structure were easily enzymatically cleavable, while amide linkages were not prone to degradation by soil microorganisms. In addition, it was shown that the presence of amide linkages in PU foam leads to a change in the supramolecular network arrangement due to increased content of hard segments, which in turn reduces the biodegradability of PU foam. These findings show that it is important to consider both chemical composition and supramolecular/macroscopic structure when designing new PU materials in an effort to develop environmentally friendly alternatives.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kateřina Skleničková
- Institute of Macromolecular Chemistry, Czech Academy of Sciences, Heyrovského nám. 2, Prague 6 162 06, Czech Republic; Department of Biochemistry and Microbiology, Faculty of Food and Biochemical Technology, University of Chemistry and Technology Prague, Technická 5, Prague 6 166 28, Czech Republic
| | - Eliška Suchopárová
- Department of Biochemistry and Microbiology, Faculty of Food and Biochemical Technology, University of Chemistry and Technology Prague, Technická 5, Prague 6 166 28, Czech Republic
| | - Sabina Abbrent
- Institute of Macromolecular Chemistry, Czech Academy of Sciences, Heyrovského nám. 2, Prague 6 162 06, Czech Republic
| | - Václav Pokorný
- Institute of Macromolecular Chemistry, Czech Academy of Sciences, Heyrovského nám. 2, Prague 6 162 06, Czech Republic
| | - Olga Kočková
- Institute of Macromolecular Chemistry, Czech Academy of Sciences, Heyrovského nám. 2, Prague 6 162 06, Czech Republic
| | - Martina Nevoralová
- Institute of Macromolecular Chemistry, Czech Academy of Sciences, Heyrovského nám. 2, Prague 6 162 06, Czech Republic
| | - Tomáš Cajthaml
- Institute of Microbiology, Czech Academy of Sciences, Vídeňská 1083, Prague 4 142 20, Czech Republic
| | - Michal Strejček
- Department of Biochemistry and Microbiology, Faculty of Food and Biochemical Technology, University of Chemistry and Technology Prague, Technická 5, Prague 6 166 28, Czech Republic
| | - Ondřej Uhlík
- Department of Biochemistry and Microbiology, Faculty of Food and Biochemical Technology, University of Chemistry and Technology Prague, Technická 5, Prague 6 166 28, Czech Republic
| | - Martin Halecký
- Department of Biotechnology, Faculty of Food and Biochemical Technology, University of Chemistry and Technology Prague, Technická 5, Prague 6 166 28, Czech Republic.
| | - Hynek Beneš
- Institute of Macromolecular Chemistry, Czech Academy of Sciences, Heyrovského nám. 2, Prague 6 162 06, Czech Republic.
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Su T, Zhang T, Liu P, Bian J, Zheng Y, Yuan Y, Li Q, Liang Q, Qi Q. Biodegradation of polyurethane by the microbial consortia enriched from landfill. Appl Microbiol Biotechnol 2023; 107:1983-1995. [PMID: 36763115 PMCID: PMC9911954 DOI: 10.1007/s00253-023-12418-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/26/2022] [Revised: 01/20/2023] [Accepted: 01/30/2023] [Indexed: 02/11/2023]
Abstract
Polyurethanes (PU) are one of the most used categories of plastics and have become a significant source of environmental pollutants. Degrading the refractory PU wastes using environmentally friendly strategies is in high demand. In this study, three microbial consortia from the landfill leachate were enriched using PU powder as the sole carbon source. The consortia efficiently degraded polyester PU film and accumulated high biomass within 1 week. Scanning electron microscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, and contact angle analyses showed significant physical and chemical changes to the PU film after incubating with the consortia for 48 h. In addition, the degradation products adipic acid and butanediol were detected by high-performance liquid chromatography in the supernatant of the consortia. Microbial composition and extracellular enzyme analyses revealed that the consortia can secrete esterase and urease, which were potentially involved in the degradation of PU. The dominant microbes in the consortia changed when continuously passaged for 50 generations of growth on the PU films. This work demonstrates the potential use of microbial consortia in the biodegradation of PU wastes. KEY POINTS: • Microbial consortia enriched from landfill leachate degraded polyurethane film. • Consortia reached high biomass within 1 week using polyurethane film as the sole carbon source. • The consortia secreted potential polyurethane-degrading enzymes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tianyuan Su
- State Key Laboratory of Microbial Technology, Shandong University, Qingdao, 266237, People's Republic of China
| | - Tong Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of Microbial Technology, Shandong University, Qingdao, 266237, People's Republic of China
| | - Pan Liu
- State Key Laboratory of Microbial Technology, Shandong University, Qingdao, 266237, People's Republic of China
| | - Junling Bian
- State Key Laboratory of Microbial Technology, Shandong University, Qingdao, 266237, People's Republic of China
| | - Yi Zheng
- State Key Laboratory of Microbial Technology, Shandong University, Qingdao, 266237, People's Republic of China
| | - Yingbo Yuan
- State Key Laboratory of Microbial Technology, Shandong University, Qingdao, 266237, People's Republic of China
| | - Qingbin Li
- State Key Laboratory of Microbial Technology, Shandong University, Qingdao, 266237, People's Republic of China
| | - Quanfeng Liang
- State Key Laboratory of Microbial Technology, Shandong University, Qingdao, 266237, People's Republic of China
| | - Qingsheng Qi
- State Key Laboratory of Microbial Technology, Shandong University, Qingdao, 266237, People's Republic of China.
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