European Journal of Biomedical and Pharmaceutical Sciences

PRODUCTION OF BIOPLASTIC FROM THE ISOLATED LACTOBACILLUS

M. Kaleeswari* and P. Selvi

ABSTRACT

Plastic has been a vital part of our life. However, disposal of these non-degradable petroleum-derived plastic has threaten our ecosystem. The solution to this problem is bioplastics which are a potential replacement to the synthetic plastic, because has mechanical properties similar to polypropylene and completely biodegradable too. In this work, an attempt was made to isolate potent PHB producing lactic acid bacteria from curd sample. These isolate were then morphologically and biochemically characterized. Sudan Black B was used for primary screening of bacterial isolates for PHB production. The PHB biopolymer was extracted using sodium hypochlorite digestion followed by chloroform precipitation. The PHB granules were confirmed by UV- visible spectrometry analysis and the presence of functional groups in extracted PHB was confirmed by FTIR analysis. The bioplastic film was prepared using PHB powder and biodegradation and solubility study were conducted. In conclusion, study of these lactic acid bacteria may indicate their special role in PHB production and Lactobacillus can be used for PHB production and saving the environment from pollution.

Keywords: Lactobacillus, Biopolymer, PHB, Sudan Black, Production, FTIR analysis.