Pyocyanin Assisting Biosurfactant Mediated Anti-shrimp Pathogen Activity and Crude Oil Recovery

Abstract

Background: The unflagging engrossing biosurfactant, representing ecological substitute to their synthetic equivalent has gained enormous attention in the 21st century and their potential applicability in food, medicine and petrochemical industries is being explored and expanding. Objectives: The current study deals with the applicability of pyocyanin and biosurfactant in crude oil recovery and use as a potential anti-shrimp pathogen agent. Materials and Methods: The bacterial strain Pseudomonas aeruginosa ENO-14 was explored for their biosurfactant production using Luria Bertani Broth and Bushnell-Haas Broth supplemented with 1% glucose under shaking condition and pyocyanin production using Luria Bertani Broth under static and shaking conditions. The highest concentration of biosurfactant (11.07±0.15mg/ml) was obtained after 48 h at 37°C in 200 rpm and the maximum production of pyocyanin (70.12±2.11 μg/ml) was observed after 96 h at 37°C under static condition. Further Emulsification activity was evaluated using cell-free supernatant, biosurfactant alone and a combination of pyocyanin (0.01%) and biosurfactant (0.1%). Finally, the produced pyocyanin and biosurfactant were used as anti-shrimp pathogen activity by agar well diffusion assay and in crude oil recovery by sand pack column. Results: 100 % emulsification were observed for the crude oil when treated with pyocyanin and biosurfactant in a union. The noteworthy outcome of this experiment is the prominent role played by pyocyanin in enhancing the emulsification of hydrocarbons. Moreover, as a novel observation, there was an additional significant increase (80%) of residual oil recovered by sand pack column when both pyocyanin and biosurfactant were tested in conjunction as compared to the recovery obtained when biosurfactant was administered alone (65%). Furthermore, both the compounds exhibited significant anti-shrimp pathogen activity. Conclusion: Therefore, biosurfactant and pyocyanin could have promising applications in the aquaculture and petrochemical industries.