MONDAY, MARCH 23, 2026
Nagaland University team develops biodegradable PHB biopolymer from micro organism to fight world microplastic air pollution sustainably.
DIMAPUR — A Nagaland University-led multi-institute analysis team has developed a biodegradable biopolymer that might provide an eco-friendly various to standard plastics and assist deal with the rising world disaster of microplastic air pollution.
Microplastics are tiny plastic particles that accumulate within the surroundings.
They have emerged as pollution of world concern as a result of their widespread presence throughout ecosystems. Because of their small dimension, these particles are simply ingested by organisms, particularly filter feeders and progressively accumulate within the meals chain, the Nagaland University (NU) acknowledged in a press launch.
Through a course of generally known as ‘Biomagnification,’ the focus of microplastics will increase at every trophic stage, finally reaching people on the high of the meals chain, thereby posing vital dangers to human well being and ecosystems.
Addressing this problem, researchers from Nagaland University and accomplice establishments centered on producing a biodegradable bacterial biopolymer referred to as ‘Polyhydroxybutyrate’ (PHB).
The polymer was produced from a bacterial pressure referred to as ‘Bacillus subtilis FW1’, which was beforehand remoted from fish waste disposal websites in Mokokchung distric.
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“PHB has attracted growing interest as a potential replacement for petroleum-based plastics because it is biodegradable, biocompatible and derived from biological sources,” it acknowledged.
The findings had been printed in Journal of Polymer Research, a peer-reviewed scientific journal printed by the Springer Nature that focuses on analysis associated to the synthesis, characterisation, processing and purposes of polymeric supplies.
The analysis was carried out by a team from the Applied Environmental Microbial Biotechnology Laboratory within the Department of Environmental Science, NU, led by Dr. Pranjal Bharali, Assistant Professor.
The analysis group included doctoral students Shiva Aley Acharjee, Bhagyudoy Gogoi, Bendangtula Walling, Viphrezolie Sorhie and Alemtoshi, moreover researchers from different institutes.
The research was carried out in collaboration with scientists and researchers from a number of establishments throughout India, together with Sathyabama Institute of Science and Technology, CSIR-North East Institute of Science and Technology, Tezpur University, Bharathiar University, University of Science and Technology Meghalaya, and Galgotias University.
Highlighting the main focus of the college on growing options to vital points, Prof. Jagadish Ok Patnaik, Vice Chancellor, NU, mentioned, that the revolutionary materials, produced from micro organism remoted from fish waste disposal websites in Nagaland, represents a vital step ahead in addressing the worldwide problem of microplastic air pollution.
“The development of this eco-friendly and sustainable alternative to conventional plastics highlights the importance of scientific research rooted in local resources and environmental responsibility,” he added.
The research demonstrated a number of promising findings. The bacterial pressure was capable of accumulate as much as 69.2 per cent PHB biopolyester, indicating robust manufacturing potential. Detailed physico-chemical characterisation additionally confirmed that the biopolymer possesses excessive thermostability.
Importantly, laboratory testing revealed that the fabric is biocompatible with human liver hepatocellular carcinoma cell strains (HepG2), indicating its potential security for biomedical purposes.
Elaborating on the analysis, Dr. Bharali mentioned, “Advances in microbial biotechnology, such as this study, could play a critical role in addressing the global plastic pollution crisis while creating sustainable materials that benefit both industry and the environment.”
“Future research will focus on improving bacterial strain efficiency, optimising metabolic pathways and utilising low-cost waste-based feedstocks to make PHB production economically competitive with conventional plastics,” he added.
Further analysis of the fabric’s environmental behaviour confirmed encouraging biodegradability outcomes. The PHB movie produced in the course of the analysis degraded by roughly 59.6 per cent inside 28 days throughout soil burial experiments utilizing the open windrow composting methodology.
Researchers famous that this stage of biodegradability demonstrates the potential of PHB as a sustainable and environmentally pleasant biomaterial.
At current, the researchers have efficiently remoted micro organism from fish waste disposal websites in Mokokchung and synthesised PHB utilizing glucose as a carbon supply.
The extracted polymer has undergone biodegradability and biocompatibility assessments, demonstrating its non-cytotoxic nature and promising environmental efficiency.
The researchers additionally emphasised the necessity to tackle a number of scientific and societal challenges transferring ahead, together with scaling up manufacturing processes, bettering downstream extraction strategies, finding out biodegradation behaviour in several environmental situations and enhancing public consciousness about sustainable plastic options.