Full Length Research Paper

Isolation and identification of polystyrene biodegrading bacteria from soil

Naima Atiq¹*, Safia Ahmed¹, M. Ishtiaq Ali¹, Saadia Andleeb¹, Bashir Ahmad¹ and Geoffery Robson²

¹Department of Microbiology, Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad 45320, Pakistan.

²Faculty of Life Sciences, University of Manchester, United Kingdom.

*Corresponding author. E-mail: qau_mic1@yahoo.com. Tel: 00925190643079.

Accepted 8 June, 2010

Abstract

With the increased production of municipal solid waste by the disposal of plastic materials, there is a need to develop new biodegradable materials and biodegrade existing plastic materials in daily use. Polystyrene and expanded polystyrene are commodity plastics that are extensively used in packaging and other applications. Six bacterial isolates were isolated from soil buried expanded polystyrene films showing adherence and growth with the polystyrene as a sole carbon source. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) of the film surface used for isolation showed extensive microbial growth. The preliminary screening of biodegradation capability was done by Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy for surface chemical changes and high pressure liquid chromatography (HPLC) for analysis of biodegradation products. Bacterial isolates NA26, NB6, NB26 showed the production of biodegradation products in the extracellular media indicating biodegradation process.

Key words: Polystyrene, bacteria, biodegradation, soil burial, FTIR.