Statistical optimization for the efficacious degradation of reactive azo dyes using Acinetobacter baumannii JC359

The aim of this study is to biodegrade the reactive azo dyes- Reactive black 5 (B-GDN), Reactive red 120 (RP) and Reactive blue 19 (RNB) using bacteria Acinetobacter baumannii JC359. Optimization of the process variables such as pH, temperature, dye concentration, incubation time, inoculum volume and dynamic incubating conditions for dye decolorization were performed using One Factor At a Time (OFAT) approach. Box- Behnken Design (BBD) of Response Surface Methodology (RSM) was further used to optimize the process variables. Decolorization rates of 98.8% for B-GDN, 96% for RP and 96.2% for RNB were observed after treating with A. baumannii for 48 h using the obtained design value. UV-Visible spectrophotometry and FT-IR spectral scan of dye and degraded metabolites confirmed that biodegradation had taken place. Further, the phytotoxicity evaluation was performed with Vigna radiata seeds and the degraded metabolites proved to be non-toxic. Docking studies were performed and it was found that there was significant binding affinity between the dyes and azoreductase enzyme of A. baumannii. Thus, the biodegradation of these reactive azo dyes was found to be a suitable alternative for the effective treatment of textile dyes.