Paper Title
Optimization of Solvent Selection for Bioluminescent Enzymatic Analysis of Petroleum-Contaminated Soils

Abstract
This paper presents a study on the application of bioluminescent enzymatic testing for assessing petroleum-contaminated soils using ethanol and acetone as solvents.Petroleum and its by-products exhibit hydrophobic properties, requiring the use of solvents for effective extraction from contaminated soil samples.Ethanol and acetone are among the commonly employed solvents, but their potential impact on enzymatic biotests remains a subject of investigation. The study utilised a bioluminescent enzymatic assay, employing the NAD(F)H:FMN-oxidoreductase + luciferase system to assess the toxicity of soil extracts.The investigation focused on the effectiveness of ethanol and acetone in preserving enzymatic activity while dissolving petroleum contaminants.The findings revealed that ethanol exhibited superior solubility for petroleum products and maintained bioluminescence intensity at higher concentrations when compared to acetone. The study underscores the pivotal role of solvent selection in bioluminescent soil toxicity assessments and puts forward ethanol as a more suitable solvent for the enzymatic biotesting of petroleum-contaminated environments. Keywords - Bioluminescence analysis, Enzymatic biotests, Soil toxicity assessment, Petroleum products, Ethanol, Acetone, Bacterial luciferase, NAD(F)H:FMN oxidoreductase.