Production and Characterization of Exopolysaccharides (EPS) from Biofilm Forming Marine Bacterium

Marine water was used for the biofilm forming bacterial isolation. A biofilm forming device was made by using PVC pipes with sterile glass slides. Five morphologically different bacteria were isolated from the scrapping of glass slides from the device after a month period of time. The efficiency of EPS production was checked for all the isolates. Using scanning electron microscope (SEM), the morphology of microbial cells and colonies was studied. The maximum EPS was produced by the strain B3, which was analyzed and characterized by thin layer chromatography (TLC) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) spectra. B3 EPS displayed a strong absorption band of -OH at 3415.31 cm(-1) and COOH at 1631.48 cm(-1) showing it to be polysaccharide.