The most common polymer in plastics is polyethylene (PE), which is made from ethylene monomers (CH2=CH2). In natural form it is not biodegradable. To enhance the biodegradation of polyethylene, pretreatment strategies were followed. Three different pretreatment strategies were employed for the present study. In the first, PE films were thermally treated at 100ºc in an atmosphere of air for 30 days to induce oxidation and in the second they were subjected to UV light (UV-C,>300nm wavelength) for 10 days. Thirdly, they were suspended in concentrated nitric acid to enhance percent elongation for 10 days. These pretreated samples along with the untreated PE films were used as the sole carbon source for isolation of PE degrading strains. Submerged cultures with PE as the sole carbon source were inoculated with the isolated fungal strains and assessed for polymer biodegradation by weight loss, estimation of total carbohydrates and total protein in the culture supernatant.
