Antibacterial Activities of Surfactants in the Laundry Detergents and Isolation of the Surfactant Resistant Aquatic Bacteria

Linear alkylbenzene sulfonate (LAS) and polyoxyethylene lauryl ether (POLE) are major surfactants contained in the laundry detergents. In the present study, the antibacterial activities of the surfactants to aquatic microorganisms were compared. When freshwater samples from a small river in Okayama city were treated with each of the surfactants, only LAS showed the significant antibacterial activity. Several strains, which survived after the treatment with 2.0% LAS, were isolated and identified by sequencing of 16S rDNA. All strains were classified into the family Enterobacteriaceae. However, this family was not a major member of the aquatic microflora, suggesting that the bacteria in Enterobacteriaceae have a common property of LAS-resistance in the river water.