SAPONIFIED STARCH-G-POLYACRYLONITRILE GELS AS CARBON SOURCE IN BACTERIAL CULTURING

Water-absorbing gels are being increasingly used in our daily Lives. S ome of these gels are synthesized by modification of starch. They are of the superabsorbing type. The chemical modifications to starch, invo lved in the synthesis of gels, are likely to present an environmental threat on account of the loss of its inherent biodegradability. Alkali hydrolysed starch-graft-polyacrylonitrile (HSPAN), a starch-based gel , was studied for biodegradability using indigenously isolated bacteri al culture. Interestingly, the bacterial culture isolated in the labor atory used HSPAN as the sole source of carbon for its growth and proge nesis. The microbial characteristics of the culture were Gram-positive rods with centrally located spores. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science Ltd. Al l rights reserved.