Borie Mohammad Ibraheem

BIODEGRADABILITY OF HYDROCARBONS BY CYANOBACTERIA1

Five cyanobacterial species (Phormidium sp., Nostoc sp., Anabaena sp. Aphanothece conferta, and Synechocystis aquatilis) isolated from the Suez Canal coast at the city of Ismailia (Egypt) were tested for biodegradation of four hydrocarbon (HC) compounds: two aliphatic compounds (n‐octadecane and pristine) and two aromatic compounds (phenanthrene and dibenzothiophene). High degradation efficiencies for the two aliphatic compounds were measured for A. conferta (64% for n‐octadecane and 78% for pristine) and S. aquatilis (85% for n‐octadecane and 90% for pristane). However, the other biodegradation percentages ranged between weak and moderate percentages.

Cyanobacterial extra-metabolites against some pathogenic bacteria

Ten cyanobacterial species ( Nostoc calcicola , Nostoc commune, Nostoc entophytum, Nostoc minutum, Nostoc palndosum, Nostoc passerianum, Nostoc punctiforme, Anabaena ambigua, Anabaena amomala, and Anabaena doliolum ) were isolated from the mangrove region of Ras Mohammed (Sinai, Egypt), and were tested for their allelopathic activities including inhibitory and/or promoting effects against two Gram positive bacteria ( Bacillus subtilis and Staphylococcus aureus ) and two Gram negative bacteria (Escherichia coli and Pseudomonas aeruginosa ). Data suggested two types of allelopathic effects: one type which always appeared in cyanobacterial medium as in the case with N. minutum (medium that inhibits the growth of all tested bacterial species). The other type is induced only when cyanobacteria are in contact with bacteria; this is the case when the growth of both B. subtilis and S. aureus were inhibited in co-culture with N. commune. On the other hand, promotion effects of bacterial growth were observed when grown in cyanobacterial metabolites in most of studied cyanobacterial species. The biological assays for aqueous and methanolic extracts of the two Nostoc species revealed that both extracts for each species were not toxic at concentrations of 0.52 and 0.59 g L -1 water extract for N. commune and N. minutum , respectively and 0.31 and 0.425 g L -1 for methanolic extract for N. commune and N. minutum , respectively. No mortality was observed in tested mice within 72 h.

Biosynthesis of silver nanoparticles by using of the marine brown alga Padina pavonia and their characterization

Silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) are gaining considerable importance due to their attractive physicochemical properties for many applications. In the present study, (Ag NPs) were synthesized by the reduction of aqueous solutions of silver nitrate (AgNO3) with powder and solvent extracts of Padina pavonia (brown algae). The obtained nanoparticles exhibited high stability, rapid formation of the biogenic process (2 min -3 h), small size (49.58–86.37 nm) (the diameter of formed nanoparticles was measured by TEM and DLS) and variable shapes (spherical, triangular, rectangle, polyhedral and hexagonal). Preliminary characterization of nanoparticles was monitored by using UV–visible spectroscopy (UV–vis), Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM), Dynamic Light Scattering (DLS) and finally by Fourier Transform Infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). The ratios of converted Ag NPs were recorded as 88.5; 86.2 and 90.5% in case of P. pavonia powder. extract and chloroform extract, respectively.