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Structural characterization and surface activities of biogenic rhamnolipid surfactants from Pseudomonas aeruginosa isolate MN1 and synergistic effects against methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus

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Abstract

The aim of present work was to study chemical structures and biological activities of rhamnolipid biosurfactants produced by Pseudomonas aeruginosa MN1 isolated from oil-contaminated soil. The results of liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) analysis revealed that total rhamnolipids (RLs) contained 16 rhamnolipid homologues. Di-lipid RLs containing C10-C10 moieties were by far the most predominant congeners among mono-rhamnose (53.29 %) and di-rhamnose (23.52 %) homologues. Mono-rhamnolipids form 68.35 % of the total congeners in the RLs. Two major fractions were revealed in the thin layer chromatogram of produced RLs which were then purified by column chromatography. The retardation factors (R f) of the two rhamnolipid purple spots were 0.71 for RL1 and 0.46 for RL2. LC-MS/MS analysis proved that RL1 was composed of mono-RLs and RL2 consisted of di-RLs. RL1 was more surface-active with the critical micelle concentration (CMC) value of 15 mg/L and the surface tension of 25 mN/m at CMC. The results of biological assay showed that RL1 is a more potent antibacterial agent than RL2. All methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) strains were inhibited by RLs that were independent of their antibiotic susceptibility patterns. RLs remarkably enhanced the activity of oxacillin against MRSA strains and lowered the minimum inhibitory concentrations of oxacillin to the range of 3.12–6.25 μg/mL.

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Abbreviations

CFU:

Colony-forming unit

CMC:

Critical micelle concentration

FIC:

Fractional inhibitory concentration

LC-MS:

Liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry

MHB:

Mueller–Hinton broth

MIC:

Minimum inhibitory concentration

MRSA:

Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus

MSM:

Mineral salts medium

PTCC:

Persian type culture collection

R f :

Retardation factor

RL:

Rhamnolipid

TIC:

Total ion chromatogram

TLC:

Thin layer chromatography

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Acknowledgements

This study was supported by a grant from Tehran University of Medical Sciences (no. 5664).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Drug and Food Control and Biotechnology Research Center, Faculty of Pharmacy, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, 14171, Iran

    Nasrin Samadi, Neda Abadian, Farzaneh Amini & Dina Dalili

  2. Pharmaceutical Sciences Research Center, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, 14171, Iran

    Reza Ahmadkhaniha

  3. Institute for Environmental Research, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran

    Noushin Rastkari

  4. Pharmaceutical Quality Assurance Research Center, Faculty of Pharmacy, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, 14171, Iran

    Eliyeh Safaripour

  5. Biotechnology Department, Iranian Research Organization for Science and Technology (IROST), Tehran, Iran

    Farzaneh Aziz Mohseni

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  1. Nasrin Samadi
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  2. Neda Abadian
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Correspondence to Nasrin Samadi.

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Samadi, N., Abadian, N., Ahmadkhaniha, R. et al. Structural characterization and surface activities of biogenic rhamnolipid surfactants from Pseudomonas aeruginosa isolate MN1 and synergistic effects against methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus . Folia Microbiol 57, 501–508 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12223-012-0164-z

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