Academic Journal
Enhancing urease for calcium carbonate precipitation in Lysinibacillus Pakistanensis through nutrient optimisation for self-healing concrete applications.
| Title: | Enhancing urease for calcium carbonate precipitation in Lysinibacillus Pakistanensis through nutrient optimisation for self-healing concrete applications. |
|---|---|
| Authors: | Mohamed A; Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Brunel University London, UB8 3PH, UK., Fan M; Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Brunel University London, UB8 3PH, UK; School of Engineering, Huzhou University, China. Electronic address: mizi.fan@brunel.ac.uk., Chen H; Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Brunel University London, UB8 3PH, UK., Xia Y; Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Brunel University London, UB8 3PH, UK; Yunnan Provincial Key Laboratory of Wood Adhesives and Glued Products, Southwest Forestry University, Kunming, 650224, China., Bertolesi E; School of Engineering, Cardiff University, CF10 3AT, UK., Roberts T; Centre of Genome Engineering and Maintenance, Brunel University London, UB8 3PH, UK. |
| Source: | International journal of biological macromolecules [Int J Biol Macromol] 2026 Jan; Vol. 340 (Pt 1), pp. 149654. Date of Electronic Publication: 2025 Dec 11. |
| Publication Type: | Journal Article |
| Language: | English |
| Journal Info: | Publisher: Elsevier Country of Publication: Netherlands NLM ID: 7909578 Publication Model: Print-Electronic Cited Medium: Internet ISSN: 1879-0003 (Electronic) Linking ISSN: 01418130 NLM ISO Abbreviation: Int J Biol Macromol Subsets: MEDLINE |
| Imprint Name(s): | Publication: Amsterdam : Elsevier Original Publication: Guildford, Eng., IPC Science and Technology Press. |
| MeSH Terms: | Urease*/metabolism , Calcium Carbonate*/chemistry , Calcium Carbonate*/metabolism , Bacillaceae*/enzymology , Bacillaceae*/metabolism , Construction Materials* , Nutrients*, Urea/metabolism ; Urea/chemistry ; Soil Microbiology ; Chemical Precipitation ; Hydrolysis |
| Abstract: | Microbially induced calcium carbonate (MICP) has emerged as a well-documented approach for self-healing concrete, focused on remediating microcracks. In this study, multiple soil-derived bacteria were assessed for suitability in self-healing concrete. Among these, nutrients for L. Pakistanensis were optimised to enhance urease activity and calcium carbonate precipitation. A total of 155 soil isolates were screened using morphological and biochemical tests. In this study, L. Pakistanensis was selected as the most promising strain for further optimisation, studying the response of various nutrients such as yeast extract, nutrient broth, glucose, l-alanine, and inosine, by measuring the urea decomposed and calcium carbonate precipitation. SEM, EDS and FTIR were used to characterise L. Pakistanensis precipitate. L. Pakistanensis hydrolysed 100 % of urea within 72 h and produced up to 0.43 g/100 mL. Nutrient optimisation revealed that germinates in particular l-alanine and inosine, significantly enhancing spore germination and urea hydrolysis, whereas excessive calcium inhibits activity. Previous research has explored self-healing concrete using bacteria, with research on optimising nutrients for L. Pakistanensis remaining scarce. This study provides new insight into a potential alternative bacterium to use in self-healing, accompanied by a preliminary optimised medium, to develop a more efficient and sustainable remediation method for microcracking. (Copyright © 2025. Published by Elsevier B.V.) |
| Competing Interests: | Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper. |
| Contributed Indexing: | Keywords: Lysinibacillus Pakistanensis; Microbially induced calcium carbonate precipitate (MICP); Nutrients; Soil; Urease |
| Substance Nomenclature: | EC 3.5.1.5 (Urease) H0G9379FGK (Calcium Carbonate) 8W8T17847W (Urea) |
| Entry Date(s): | Date Created: 20251213 Date Completed: 20260131 Latest Revision: 20260131 |
| Update Code: | 20260201 |
| DOI: | 10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2025.149654 |
| PMID: | 41390031 |
| Database: | MEDLINE |
| ISSN: | 1879-0003 |
|---|---|
| DOI: | 10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2025.149654 |