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Haloalkalitolerant Nitrile-Utilizing Strains Promote the Biodegradation of Nitrile-Butadiene Rubber.
Summary
Scientists found bacteria that can actually start breaking down nitrile rubber—the material used in disposable medical gloves that has piled up as pollution since COVID-19. These microbes grow on the rubber and use enzymes to chemically alter it, kicking off the early stages of degradation, which is a promising first step toward tackling the mountains of glove waste littering our environment. While this doesn't mean the gloves will fully disappear anytime soon, it points toward future ways to reduce plastic and microplastic pollution that can otherwise end up in our water, soil, and even our bodies.
Environmental pollution from polymers is reaching alarming levels. Nitrile-butadiene rubber (NBR), widely used in medical glove manufacturing, contributes significantly to plastic and microplastic pollution. Nitrile gloves have become a major component of COVID-19 pandemic-related waste. In this study, we demonstrated the ability of haloalkalitolerant, nitrile-utilizing IEGM 1416 and IEGM 1417 to grow on a mineral medium containing NBR as the sole nitrogen source. Scanning electron microscopy and colony-forming unit (CFU) counting confirmed the development of biofilms on this material, representing the first step in polymer biodegradation. After UV and freeze-thaw pretreatment of NBR, biofilm biomass for IEGM 1416 and IEGM 1417 reached (7.28 ± 0.48) × 10 and (6.27 ± 0.72) × 10 CFU/cm, respectively. Using attenuated total reflectance Fourier transform infrared (ATR-FTIR) spectroscopy, we identified structural changes in NBR following UV/freeze-thaw treatment and subsequent 1-month cultivation. The appearance of amide groups in the polymer structure resulted from the transformation of nitrile groups by bacterial nitrile hydratases. Oxidative aging of the material was observed after both UV irradiation and bacterial growth; notably, the effect varied between the different sides of the NBR due to structural heterogeneity. Enzymes from haloalkalitolerant nitrile-utilizing rhodococci induce chemical changes in NBR, corresponding to the initial stages of backbone oxidation and nitrile group transformation.