Establishing miniaturised structural testing techniques to enable high-throughput screening of microorganisms and microbial components for unpaved road stabilisation application

Veshara Malapermal Ramdas; Prisha Mandree; Martin Mgangira; Samson Mukaratirwa; Rajesh Lalloo; Santosh Ramchuran

doi:10.1016/j.jare.2019.11.002

Establishing miniaturised structural testing techniques to enable high-throughput screening of microorganisms and microbial components for unpaved road stabilisation application

J Adv Res. 2019 Nov 7:21:151-159. doi: 10.1016/j.jare.2019.11.002. eCollection 2020 Jan.

Authors

Veshara Malapermal Ramdas^{1

2}, Prisha Mandree², Martin Mgangira², Samson Mukaratirwa¹, Rajesh Lalloo², Santosh Ramchuran^{1

2}

Affiliations

¹ School of Life Sciences, University of KwaZulu Natal, Durban 4041, South Africa.
² Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), PO Box 395, Pretoria, 0001, South Africa.

Abstract

Roads are expensive to develop particularly in challenging environmental conditions, and a lack of understanding of the properties of soil can lead to poor design and premature failures contributing to costly maintenance. The construction industry is exploring new opportunities involving biological processes and products to modify the structural properties of the in situ material, in terms of strength, volume stability, durability and permeability. Through an integrative interdisciplinary approach several microorganisms and other existing bio-enzymatic products such as secondary metabolites, enzymes, endospores, and extracellular polymeric substances have been considered as possible alternatives to conventional methods for the development of sustainable road infrastructure. Limitations in the current state of technology to developing bio-based solutions include microorganism selection and the ability to evaluate derivative components in rapid structural tests that enhance the time to development of proper commercial products. This study focused on the testing of fermentation derived components of biological materials in a high-throughput manner, using miniaturised structural tests to validate screening and selection methodology. The methods tested included resistance to abrasion, resistance to erosion, water absorption and resistance to compression load. Unique miniaturised test equipment was successfully developed using computer-aided design (CAD) and 3D printing technologies. Effects were measured to enable the rapid evaluation of a target microorganism and for screening of biological components or fractions. Results obtained using a Bacillus isolate reported in the current study exhibit strength characteristics and can potentially be formulated as a product for soil stabilisation. This work forms the basis for in vitro selection methodology to enhance development of bio-based structural materials for application in the road sector.

Keywords: Bacillus species; Biological additives; Construction industry; In situ material; Road sector; Soil stabiliser.