Exploring the potential of biosurfactants produced by fungi found in soil contaminated with petrochemical wastes

• Published in: Scientific reports Vol. 14; no. 1; pp. 25733 - 20
• Main Authors: Mahmoud, Yehia A.-G., El-Halmouch, Yasser H., Nasr, Ebtsam E., Al-Sodany, Yassin M., El-Nogoumy, Baher A., Ali, Sameh S.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London Nature Publishing Group UK 28-10-2024; Nature Publishing Group; Nature Portfolio
• Subjects: 631/326; 631/61; 704/172; Ammonium; Ammonium sulfate; Anthracene; Antimicrobial activity; Aspergillus - metabolism; Aspergillus niger - metabolism; Bioprocess; Bioremediation; Biosurfactant; Biosurfactants; Carbon sources; Culture media; Environmental safety; Fluoranthene; Fungi - metabolism; Humanities and Social Sciences; Hydrocarbon oils; Microorganisms; multidisciplinary; Nitrogen; Oil pollution; Peptones; Petrochemical wastes; Petrochemicals; Petroleum - metabolism; Petroleum - microbiology; Phenols; Phospholipids; Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons; Science; Science (multidisciplinary); Soil - chemistry; Soil contamination; Soil Microbiology; Soil microorganisms; Soil Pollutants - metabolism; Soil pollution; Soil remediation; Soil temperature; Sucrose; Sulfates; Sulfuric acid; Surface tension; Surface-Active Agents - chemistry; Surface-Active Agents - metabolism; Surface-Active Agents - pharmacology; Surfactants; Biosurfactant; Petrochemical wastes; Bioremediation; Hydrocarbon oils; Environmental safety; Bioprocess
• ISSN: 2045-2322; 2045-2322
• DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-75865-5

Biosurfactants are a diverse group of compounds derived from microorganisms, possessing various structures and applications. The current study was seeking to isolate and identify a new biosurfactant-producing fungus from soil contaminated with petrochemical waste. The bioprocess conditions were optimized to maximize biosurfactant production for
Aspergillus carneus
OQ152507 using a glucose peptone culture medium with a pH of 7.0 and a temperature of 35 °C. The carbon source was glucose (3%), and ammonium sulfate (0.25%) was utilized as the nitrogen source. For
Aspergillus niger
OQ195934, the optimized conditions involved a starch nitrate culture medium with a pH of 7.0 and a temperature of 30 °C. The carbon source used was sucrose (3.5%), and ammonium sulfate (0.25%) served as the nitrogen source. The phenol-H
2
SO
4
and phosphate tests showed that the biosurfactants that were extracted did contain glycolipid and/or phospholipid molecules. They showed considerable antimicrobial activity against certain microbes. The obtained biosurfactants increased the solubility of tested polyaromatic hydrocarbons, including fluoranthene, pyrene, anthracene, and fluorine, and successfully removed the lubricating oil from contaminated soil and aqueous media surface tension reduction. Based on the obtained results,
A. carneus
and
A. niger
biosurfactants could be potential candidates for environmental oil remediation processes.