Abstract

EXTRACTION OF ALGINATE BIOPOLYMER FROM ISOLATED AZOTOBACTER SPECIES AND ITS APPLICATIONS

Mitali Bhoir, Pooja Ratnakaran and Annika Durve-Gupta*

Abstract

Alginate is a biopolymer and composed of (1-4)-β-D mannuronic acid and (1-4)-α-L guluronic acid. Currently, commercial alginate, used for most applications, from marine algae through extraction process. In this work, we have isolated Azotobacter species for the extraction of the biopolymer-Alginate. Four different soil samples from various locations in Kalyan were used for the isolation of Azotobacter species. Four different isolates were obtained from four samples. Their Gram nature and biochemical characteristics were studied and they were identified as Azotobacter species. The biopolymer was extracted using centrifugation method by scraping out the growth of bacteria. Optimization of growth conditions for Azotobacter species was studied. The effect of time, temperature, pH, NaCl, carbon source and nitrogen source on the biopolymer production was observed. A sugarcane molasses fermentation media was designed to check for the production of biopolymer using isolated strains. Biopolymer alginate is used in various industrial applications because of its unique properties that include gelling, non-toxicity, biocompatibility, biodegradability, good stabilizer, thickening agent. The alginate produced was used for the production of fruit jam and lip balm.

Keywords: Azotobacter isolates, Biopolymer-Alginate, Centrifugation, Fruit jam, Lip balm.