{
  "abstract": "Microbial regrowth in tap water poses a potential threat to public health. Although biodegradable organic matter (BOM) supports microbial proliferation, specific BOM components remain largely unknown. This study evaluated the bacterial growth potential and explored BOM components in tap water samples collected from a hospital and a university. In the hospital sample, indigenous microbial communities grew up to 107 cells/mL after several days of incubation. Amplicon sequencing revealed that abundance of Methylotenera mobilis increased significantly. By solid-phase extraction followed by liquid chromatography high-resolution mass spectrometry (LC/HRMS), 36 putative BOM components were screened from 5,787 dissolved organic matter components. Tandem mass spectrometry and co-chromatography identified C18H36N4O3 as lauroyl arginine, an N-acyl amino acid and amino acid-based surfactant. N-lauroylglycine, and N-myristoylglycine were identified as BOM components from the university tap water sample. Further incubation experiments revealed that some bacterial species can use these three compounds as sole carbon sources. Our findings demonstrate that compound-level characterization using LC/HRMS can reveal previously unrecognized contaminants, with potential implications for biological stability and drinking water distribution system management.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [
    "Graduate School of Engineering, University of Tokyo, 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, JAPAN, 113-8656",
    "National Institute for Environmental Studies,16",
    "Research Center for Advanced Science and Technology, University of Tokyo, 4-6-1 Komaba, Meguro-ku, Tokyo, JAPAN, 153-8904"
  ],
  "article_type": null,
  "arxiv": null,
  "author_total": 4,
  "authors": [
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Yutaro Uehara",
      "orcid": "0009-0003-6471-0407"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        1
      ],
      "name": "Yuta Shinfuku"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        2
      ],
      "name": "Ikuro Kasuga"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Futoshi Kurisu"
    }
  ],
  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/deaknpmmx2w2c.bib",
  "cited_by": 0,
  "doi": "10.26434/chemrxiv.15009937/v1",
  "fulltext_url": null,
  "id": "deaknpmmx2w2c",
  "issns": [],
  "landing_url": "https://chemrxiv.org/doi/full/10.26434/chemrxiv.15009937/v1",
  "language": null,
  "licence": "CC-BY-NC-ND",
  "licence_label": "CC BY-NC-ND",
  "licence_source": "journal",
  "licence_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/",
  "metadata_licence": null,
  "native_subjects": [
    [
      "openalex",
      "2307|Water Treatment and Disinfection"
    ]
  ],
  "openalex": "W7220676723",
  "pdf_url": "https://chemrxiv.org/doi/pdf/10.26434/chemrxiv.15009937/v1",
  "pmcid": null,
  "pmid": null,
  "published": "2026-10-05",
  "publisher": "American Chemical Society (ACS)",
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/deaknpmmx2w2c.ris",
  "sources": [
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-10-30T12:17:22Z",
      "native_id": "10.26434/chemrxiv.15009937",
      "source": "chemrxiv",
      "url": "https://chemrxiv.org/doi/full/10.26434/chemrxiv.15009937/v1"
    }
  ],
  "subjects": [
    {
      "field": "medicine",
      "origin": "openalex:2307|Water Treatment and Disinfection",
      "subfield": "pharmacology-toxicology"
    }
  ],
  "title": "High-resolution mass spectrometry revealed that amino acid-based surfactants as a potential contributor to bacterial regrowth in tap water",
  "title_text": "High-resolution mass spectrometry revealed that amino acid-based surfactants as a potential contributor to bacterial regrowth in tap water",
  "type": "preprint",
  "updated_at": "2026-10-30T12:17:22Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/deaknpmmx2w2c",
  "venue": "ChemRxiv",
  "versions": []
}