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PreprintCC BY-NC-NDChemRxiv

High-resolution mass spectrometry revealed that amino acid-based surfactants as a potential contributor to bacterial regrowth in tap water

  • Yutaro Uehara1
  • Yuta Shinfuku2
  • Ikuro Kasuga3
  • Futoshi Kurisu1
  1. 1Graduate School of Engineering, University of Tokyo, 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, JAPAN, 113-8656
  2. 2National Institute for Environmental Studies,16
  3. 3Research Center for Advanced Science and Technology, University of Tokyo, 4-6-1 Komaba, Meguro-ku, Tokyo, JAPAN, 153-8904
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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.

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Cite

BibTeXRIS
BibTeX
@misc{uehara2026highresolution,
  title = {{High-resolution mass spectrometry revealed that amino acid-based surfactants as a potential contributor to bacterial regrowth in tap water}},
  author = {Yutaro Uehara and Yuta Shinfuku and Ikuro Kasuga and Futoshi Kurisu},
  howpublished = {ChemRxiv},
  year = {2026},
  month = oct,
  doi = {10.26434/chemrxiv.15009937/v1},
  url = {https://chemrxiv.org/doi/full/10.26434/chemrxiv.15009937/v1},
  note = {CC BY-NC-ND},
}
RIS
TY  - UNPB
TI  - High-resolution mass spectrometry revealed that amino acid-based surfactants as a potential contributor to bacterial regrowth in tap water
AU  - Yutaro Uehara
AU  - Yuta Shinfuku
AU  - Ikuro Kasuga
AU  - Futoshi Kurisu
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/10/05
PB  - ChemRxiv
DO  - 10.26434/chemrxiv.15009937/v1
UR  - https://chemrxiv.org/doi/full/10.26434/chemrxiv.15009937/v1
AB  - 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.
ER  -