PVA electrospun mats containing viable bacteria for water remediation

DUCA, CLARA; GUZ, LUCAS; ESTEVEZ-ARECO, SANTIAGO; CIMADORO, JONATHAN; GOYANES, SILVIA; CANDAL, ROBERTO

Ciudad Obregón, Sonora

Simposio; The Sixth International Symposium on Environmental Biotechnology and Engineering; 2018

The preparation of hybrid materials that combine the mechanical and structural properties of polymer nanofibers with the functional groups presented in bacteria membranes leads to the generation of versatile and polyfunctional systems for several applications (supported biosorbents and filters1, biosynthesis by microorganisms, bacteria cryo-preservation2, among others).A new hybrid biomaterial consisting of polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) nanofibers mats obtained by electrospinning with bacteria entrapped inside was developed. The viable bacteriawere entrapped inside by submerging the material in PBS with Escherichia coli for 24 hs at 37 °C to allow bacterial adhesion. The aim of this work was to study the interaction between bacteria and the electrospun mats, andits possible application as a cryo-preservative support for bacteria and as a hybrid biofilter.The bacteria were found to be inside the nanofibers network holes, as observed by fluorescent microscopy. No bacteria were observed on the mats surface, as determined by FE-SEM.This hybrid membrane was able to preserve bacteria aliveeven after been preserved at -20 °C for one month. The present development could be used, for example, as a bioreactor, in medical applications,or as a filtering membrane for water treatment. To demonstrate its applicability as a heavy metal removal membrane, the hybrid material was successfully used to remove copper from water without releasing bacteria into the aqueous media. The present material opens the door to membranes in which different species of bacteria could be combined withelectrospun mats for specific environmental applications.