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Pukyong National University Professor Kim Young-mok’s Research Team Publishes Paper in Top Environmental Engineering and Safety Journal

-<Journal of Hazardous Materials> …Study on Biosurfactants

The research by Professor Kim Young-mok’s team (Department of Food Engineering) at Pukyong National University on controlling methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus using ‘biosurfactants’ was published in the top-tier SCI journal in the field of environmental engineering and safety, <Journal of Hazardous Materials> (2023 IF 12.2, JCR ranking Top 3.2%).

Pukyong National University’s Department of Food Engineering doctoral student Jeong Geum-jae (first author), Professor Kim Young-mok (corresponding author) from the Department of Food Science, and Professor Fazlur Rahman Khan (corresponding author) from the International Cooperation Institute for Marine and Fisheries Development published the paper ‘Control of Staphylococcus aureus infection by biosurfactant derived from Bacillus rugosus HH2: Strain isolation, structural characterization, and mechanistic insights’ in the December 2024 issue of <Journal of Hazardous Materials>.

The research team presented the findings of their study in this paper, where they purified ‘biosurfactants’ from Bacillus species and identified the mechanism for controlling methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus using these biosurfactants.

The research results showed that the Bacillus-derived ‘biosurfactants’ downregulated the expression of genes related to quorum sensing and cell adhesion, and in molecular docking simulations, they demonstrated strong interactions with key antibiotic resistance-related proteins, indicating potential for overcoming antibiotic resistance.

The research team discovered a new natural antimicrobial agent capable of controlling methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, a major antibiotic-resistant pathogen, and anticipates that Bacillus-derived ‘biosurfactants’ could be used in the development of a new paradigm for treatments, distinct from traditional antibiotics.

Meanwhile, this research was supported by the Marine and Fisheries Science and Technology Promotion Agency’s microalgae-based alternative seaweed commercialization technology development (research leader Professor Kim Young-mok) and the Basic Research Program for University Research Institutes in the field of science and technology by the Korea Research Foundation (Marine Bionics Convergence Technology Center, Director Professor Jeong Won-kyo).