Microbial transformation of carbon-14 labeled 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene (TNT) in an activated sludge system

A scheme for fractionating the biomass into successive portions, comprising carbohydrates, lipids, nucleic acid, and proteins plus an insoluble residue was developed, and further fractionation was applied to the lipid component. No radioactive carbon dioxide was formed; the radioactivity was about equally distributed between the floc and the supernatant, and was mainly associated with the lipid and protein fractions, although their basic constituents (fatty acids and amino acids) were not radioactive. Further studies of the radioactive material isolated from these fractions showed that they were polyamide-type compounds formed by condensation of the degradation products of TNT with the basic constituents of microbial flora. They were resistant to further biodegradation.