Biosurfactant production by marine bacterial strains using kerosene as a carbon source

Abstract

The aim of this work was to evaluate the ability of marine bacteria isolated from harbor region of Fortaleza, Ceará, to produce biosurfactants compounds using kerosene as the carbon source. Twenty-two strains were used, of which 14 from water samples and 8 from sediment samples. The microorganisms were grown for 72 hours in Luria Bertani (LB) using kerosene 2% as the only carbon source (v/v). The ability of these strains to produce biosurfactant compounds was investigated using the extracted supernatant from bacterial cultures (metabolic liquid, ML) through the following tests: drop collapse test, emulsification activity, formation hability and emulsion stability. The isolated bacterias hability to produce hemolysis in Blood Agar medium, indicative of biosurfactant production, was evaluated. A total of 36% of strains showed strong activity in the drop collapse test, while about 50% of strains produced emulsions higher than 40%, showing good stability until 168 hours of observation and 63% produced hemolytic activity. The isolated strains showed good results in the performed tests indicating biotechnological potential to degrade kerosene and using it as a source of carbon and produce biosurfactant/bioemulsificants compounds.