World Journal of
Pharmaceutical and Life Sciences

OPTIMIZATION OF FACTORS AFFECTING BIODEGRADATION OF ACETONITRILE BY ARTHROBACTER ISOLATES OBTAINED FROM SOIL AND WASTEWATERS

Dr. Sandhya R. Mulchandani*

ABSTRACT

Wastes in the environment have always been broken down by microbes. Also, humans have used the microbes in domestic, industrial, and agricultural activities. Therefore, soil and wastewater niches are expected to harvest a variety of stress-resistant bacteria. Arthrobacter, a common occupant in these habitats can degrade organic pollutants, inorganic pollutants, and dyes. Nitriles are a group of toxic compounds that affect the central nervous system by the alkylation of protein sulfhydryl groups. They are also toxic to other microbes that degrade other wastes. The acetonitrile-grown cells of the isolates exhibited activities corresponding to nitrile hydratase and amidase, which mediate the two-step breakdown of acetonitrile into acetic acid and ammonia. The Arthrobacter isolates A11 and A40 were found to be potential biodegradors of acetonitrile. The optimization of factors affecting the biodegradation of acetonitrile by these isolates, identified as Arthrobacters, by 16SrRNA sequencing, was determined. Nutritional and physicochemical were the two categories of factors employed. Sucrose, glucose, lactose, sodium nitrite, peptone, and casein hydrolysate were employed to check their effect on degradation. The effect of other factors such as temperature, pH, incubation time, inoculum density and volume, aeration, and salinity, on degradation, was also studied. Both isolates showed maximum degradation of acetonitrile in presence of lactose and casein, room temperature, pH 7, 48 hours of incubation, static conditions, inoculum density of 1(optical density), inoculum volume of 3%, and salt concentration of 0.5% in the medium.

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