Now showing 1 - 2 of 2
  • Publication
    Biodeterioration of pre-treated polypropylene by Aspergillus terreus and Engyodontium album
    (Nature Research, 2023) ;
    Dee Carter
    ;
    Ali Abbas
    Polypropylene (PP) has raised severe environmental issues concerning its non-degradability, with a current recycling rate of only 1%. This current study utilises Aspergillus terreus ATCC 20542 and Engyodontium album BRIP 61534a to break down PP while focusing on pre-treatment. Polypropylene granule (GPP), film (FPP) and metallised film (MFPP) are pre-treated by either UV, heat, or Fenton’s reagent. UV and heat-treated MFPP by A. terreus exhibits notable weight loss percentage (25.29% and 22.13%, respectively). Biomass production, reduction rate, Fourier transform infrared (FTIR), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) analyses further validate the degradation rate. A. terreus incubated with UV-treated MFPP produced a relatively high biomass yield of 1.07 mg/ml. Reduction in carbonyl index and surface morphological changes reveal consistent biodeterioration evidence. This investigation demonstrates that A. terreus and E. album can grow on, change, and utilise PP as a carbon source with pre-treatments’ aid, promoting the biological pathways for plastic waste treatment. © 2023, The Author(s).
  • Publication
    Growth Optimisation of Bacillus subtilis in medium supplemented with prebiotic gum Arabic
    Bacillus subtilis is a type of gastrointestinal bacteria that build up a healthy gut microbiota. The bacterial species has been well documented to involve in maintaining a healthy gut homeostasis in which disruption in it's microbial composition or "dysbiosis"has recently been linked to obesity. Probiotic in vivo restoration of dysbiosed microbiota have been proved successful in obese CD-1 mice model. However, prebiotic study using Gum Arabic (GA) assessing to optimise an in vitro lumen system specifically targeting to enhance the growth of B. subtilis are still lacking since this bacteria are depleted in obese individuals. Thus, this study aimed to establish the optimal growth conditions in simulated in vitro lumen system and to the best of our knowledge, this is the first in vitro study attempted to optimize the growth of B. subtilis in medium supplemented with prebiotic GA. Growth screening analysis suggested an optimal dosage of 1.0% and 0.5% glucose and GA, respectively. The highest growth rate was recorded at 0.7995 hours-1 with doubling time of 52.02 minutes with extended period of stationary phase. The optimal GA concentration and fermentation conditions were determined at 0.67%, pH 7.4 and temperature of 37 C. The validated suggested model indicates that the supplementation of GA into an optimal fermentation systems is promising to enhance the growth of gut microflora Bacillus subtilis, for restoration of a dysbiosed gut microbiota in vitro.
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