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Bacillus subtilis, a promising bacterial candidate for trapping nanoplastics during water treatment
Summary
Researchers found that the probiotic bacterium Bacillus subtilis can effectively trap polystyrene nanoplastics from water, with most nanoparticles clustering around the bacterial cells. At a concentration of 10 mg/L, over 73% of the nanoplastics' environmental state was altered through interaction with the bacteria. The study suggests B. subtilis could be a promising candidate for biological nanoplastic removal during water treatment, while simultaneously processing nitrogen compounds.
As a probiotic, Bacillus subtilis (B. subtilis) has a wide range of application values. In this study, the trap by B. subtilis and the effect of NPs on its growth physiology were studied. Confocal laser scanning microscopy (LCSM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) confirmed that PS-NPs were trapped by B. subtilis when they were exposed to PS-NPs. At this point, most of the PS-NPs are clustered around B. subtilis. Flow cytometry showed that at 10 mg/L, 73.7 % of PS-NPs' environmental state changed. The complexity of 9.73 %, 23.77 %, 43.27 %, and 65.13 % of B. subtilis increased at PS-NP concentrations of 10, 20, 50, and 200 mg/L, respectively. The increase in overall EPS secretion ranged from 0.51 ∼ 7.13 μg/mL after adding different concentrations of PS-NPs. The effect of different concentrations of PS-NPs on NAR activity ranged from -11.38 ∼ 16.2 %, on NIR activity from -17.90 ∼ 7.22 %, on NOR activity from -15.10 ∼ 7.69 % and on NOR activity from -14.01 ∼ 17.03 %. These results indicated that B. subtilis can process nitrogen compounds in water while capturing NPs in the environment. They have the potential to be candidate bacteria in the water treatment process, and specific applications are needed to research further.