Isolation, preliminary characterization and anti-microbial activity study of lipase producing bacteria from medicinal waste

Lipases (triacylglycerol hydrolases) are enzymes capable of hydrolysing lipids into fatty acids and glycerol. There are mainly three major categories of lipases- substrate-specific, regioselective and enantioselective. Microbial lipases are in huge demand due to its application in various industrial sectors. The present study aims to isolate lipase producing bacteria from biomedical waste of a pharmaceutical company located in West Bengal, India. Further, morphological and biochemical characterisation of the isolated bacterial sample was carried out. After serial dilution and spread plate method, the prominent clear zone observed in TBA agar (Tributyrin agar) media confirmed the isolation of lipase producing bacterial strain. The bacteria were biochemically characterised by different tests according to Bergey’s manual. Further optimisation of growth parameters (i.e. media formulation, time, pH and temperature) and antimicrobial activities of isolated lipase producing bacteria have also been studied. The optimum parameters for bacterial growth were analysed by using spectroscopic methods at 600nm. The isolated bacteria exhibited its maximum growth at a temperature of 37°C and an optimum pH 7.0 in production media (PM) using 1% (w/v) olive oil (contain fatty acid act as a carbon and energy source for bacteria) after 48 hours of incubation.