Xylitol production from high xylose concentration: evaluation of the fermentation in bioreactor under different stirring rates

AIMS: To investigate the production of xylitol by the yeast Candida guilliermondii FTI 20037, in a bioreactor, from rice straw hemicellulosic hydrolysate with a high xylose concentration. METHODS AND RESULTS: Batch fermentation was carried out with rice straw hemicellulosic hydrolysate containing about 85 g xylose l(-1), in a stirred-tank bioreactor at 30 degrees C, under aeration of 1.3 vvm (volume of air per volume of medium per min) and different stirring rates (200, 300 and 500 rev min(-1)). The bioconversion of xylose into xylitol by the yeast depended on the stirring rate, the maximum xylitol yield (YP/S = 0.84 g g(-1)) being achieved at 300 rev min-1, with no need to pretreat the hydrolysate for purification. CONCLUSIONS: To determine the most adequate oxygen transfer rate is fundamental to improving the xylose-to-xylitol bioconversion by C. guilliermondii. SIGNIFICANCE AND IMPACT OF THE STUDY: For the microbial production of xylitol to be economically viable, the initial concentration of xylose in the lignocellulosic hydrolysate should be as high as possible, as with high substrate concentrations it is possible to increase the final product concentration. Nevertheless, there are few reports on the use of high xylose concentrations. Considering a process in bioreactor, from rice straw hemicellulosic hydrolysate, this is an innovator work.     

Microwave-assisted Solid Phase Peptide Synthesis on High Loaded Resins

Kinetic of diffusion of reactants from the solution into the resin beads is a key factor of the efficiency of reaction in solid phase synthesis. We demonstrated in this paper that stirring is required to obtain homogeneous solution during the short coupling steps in microwave-assisted SPPS. Different types of resin, loading rate and coupling reactants were investigated to highlight this observation.     

Inhibition of microbial growth and metabolism by excess turbulence

Excess turbulence caused by high-intensity stirring inhibited microbial growth and metabolism. In stirred tank bioreactors, the growth rate and lysine biosynthesis decreased in Brevibacterium flavum beyond 900 rpm, the growth rate of Trichoderma reesei on wheat straw beyond 150 rpm, and the growth rate of Saccharomyces cerevisae beyond 800 rpm. The term turbohypobiosis was introduced to describe this inhibition. Turbohypobiosis was characterized by a stress factor F(str) expressing the interaction of medium flow with microbial cells in local turbulent zones, dependent on the energy distribution of the stirring regime. Lysine synthesis was inhibited at significantly lower F(str) values than the growth of B. flavum. The main reason for the inhibition was shear effects causing decreased adenosine triphosphate (ATP) generation, lower O(2) uptake, and lower specific growth rate of bacteria.     

无菌猕猴桃种子采集方法研究

无菌的猕猴桃种子是猕猴桃胚乳培养、实生苗微嫁接等技术的基础材料,利用消毒剂灭菌是常用的无菌种子采集手段,应用最广泛的消毒剂为升汞(mercuric chloride)和次氯酸钠(NaClO)。为了避免使用消毒剂,该研究提出了一种新的无菌猕猴桃种子采集方法——无菌搅拌法,同时为探索其准确性和应用性,比较了0.2%升汞灭菌20 min、10%次氯酸钠灭菌20 min、无菌搅拌法三种方式采集无菌猕猴桃种子的效果,并对种子萌发和幼苗形成的影响进行了研究。结果表明:无菌搅拌法、0.2%升汞灭菌20 min是稳定有效的无菌猕猴桃采集方式,10%次氯酸钠灭菌20 min的采集效果不稳定;在相同的时间内,无菌搅拌法的种子发芽率最高,为89.90%,但发芽势较低,均可正常成苗; 10%次氯酸钠灭菌20 min的发芽率次之,与无菌搅拌法的种子无显著差异,发芽势和成苗率最高,分别为47.47%和67.86%,且有打破猕猴桃种子休眠的作用,整体作用类似于赤霉素(GA_3)浸种的效果; 0.2%升汞灭菌20 min对猕猴桃种子的萌发有抑制作用,各项指标均显著低于无菌搅拌法种子,且生长缓慢。此外,无菌搅拌法是物理处理,对种子、操作人员、环境均无害。这证实了无菌搅拌法的实用性和优势,发现了次氯酸钠在打破猕猴桃种子休眠方面的作用,为其它同类型果实的无菌种子采集提供了参考。     

Optimization of growth conditions of the postharvest biocontrol agent Candida sake CPA-1 in a lab-scale fermenter

AIM: To maximize the growth (expressed as number of viable cells per millilitre) of the postharvest biocontrol agent Candida sake CPA(-1) at laboratory scale conditions. METHODS AND RESULTS: Growth conditons (aeration, agitation speed and inoculum size) were studied in batch conditions in a 5 l fermenter using molasses and urea as growth medium. Consumption of sugars and urea were analysed. Fed-batch studies were also carried out. Glucose and fructose were consumed during the exponential growth phase and were depleted after 18 h of growth. On the contrary, C. sake cells assimilated sucrose during the stationary phase. There was not growth improvement when fed-batch technology was used. Addition of an extra amount of glucose or molasses after 18 h of growth did not contribute to increase final population. CONCLUSIONS: Maximum growth (about 8 x 10(8 )CFU ml(-1)) was obtained at batch fermentation after 30 h growth at 400 rev min(-1), 150 l h(-1) of air and initial concentration of 106 CFU ml(-1). SIGNIFICANCE AND IMPACT OF THE STUDY: The results obtained in this study are an approach for further upscaling of C. sake production.     

搅拌转速和pH对ε-聚赖氨酸发酵的影响

采用5L自控式发酵罐研究了ε-聚赖氨酸分批发酵过程中搅拌转速和pH对发酵指标以及菌体细胞形态的影响。提高搅拌速率对菌生长和ε-赖氨酸的合成有显著的促进作用;但当搅拌转速达到400r／min以上时,由于剪切力过大导致细胞死亡,ε-聚赖氨酸产量下降。当pU维持5以上,有利于菌体生长;pH4．0左右可促进￡一聚赖氨酸的合成。搅拌转速350r／min和控制pH4．0时可获得最大的￡一聚赖氨酸产量2．95g/L,菌体量9．33g／L;此时产物E．聚赖氨酸对葡萄糖的得率和对细胞干重的比生成速率分别为0．062g／g和0．006g／g．h。通过对比不同发酵条件下ε丝体的形态变化,发现当菌丝球比较均匀、形态无较大差别、具有致密程度相当的核心时,有利于￡一聚赖氨酸形成。     

Role of latent heat in chiral symmetry breaking transition in the crystallization of 1,1'-binaphthyl

The influence of latent heat dissipated by the crystallization of 1,1'-binaphthyl in its supercooled molten state on the chiral symmetry breaking transition was investigated. Temperature change in the crystallization system was monitored by infrared thermocamera. Temperature rise due to the dissipation of latent heat in the growing front of polycrystalline aggregate was about 2 degrees C in an unstirred crystallization system. The melting point of racemic mixture and racemic compound of 1,1'-binaphthyl is 145 degrees C and 158 degrees C, respectively. The latent heat generated by the crystallization could thus change the crystallization behavior when the initial temperature of the melt was slightly lower than 145 degrees C. The temperature change in both unstirred and stirred crystallization systems was monitored. In the stirred crystallization system, even in the case when the initial temperature of the melt was about 2 degrees C lower than 145 degrees C, the temperature rose by about 4 degrees C immediately after the onset of crystallization. This indicates that the role of stirring as the critical parameter for the chiral symmetry breaking transition is not only to clone the chiral crystals but also to enhance the dissipation of latent heat due to secondary nucleation.     

Use of a whirling cup rotor to stir benthic chambers

Realistic stirring is an important concern when using benthic chambers to measure processes at the sediment-water column interface. A simple whirling cup rotor device that is driven by external flow and stirs benthic chambers effectively is described here. Flow tank studies and field studies demonstrated that this device homogenizes benthic chambers rapidly and responds quickly and linearly to external flow conditions. The device is simple to build and use and avoids many of the disadvantages of conventional stirring motors and pumps.     

Study on the metastable zone width of ketoprofen

With increasing awareness for the need of pure enantiomer drugs, strong emphasis has been focused on the research of chiral drug separation. Compared with other separation methods, crystallization is a simple and economical method, and the metastable zone width (MSZW) is a very important factor for the entire crystallization process. In this paper, the effects of the metastable zones of (R,S)- and (S)-ketoprofen and a 0.94 mole fraction of (S)-ketoprofen in order to enhance the MSZW were studied. Four main factors were studied, namely, temperature, cooling rate, stirring rate, and volume ratio of mixed solvent (water/ethanol). Through the L9 fractional experiment design, it was observed that all samples' MSZWs would increase with an increase in cooling rate and decrease with an increase in the ethanol volume ratio and temperature. The ethanol ratio may have the strongest effect on the process and can greatly enhance the metastable zone, and the other three factors influence the MSZW only slightly. In conclusion, the these four factors for enhancing MSZW have been optimized: water-to-ethanol volume ratio, 1:0.6; temperature, 20 degrees C; stirring rate, 700 rpm; and cooling rate, 12.0 degrees C/h. All of these results will be helpful for the following chiral separation of ketoprofen by crystallization.     

The effect of oxygen tension on the production of Bacillus thuringiensis subsp. israelensis toxin active against Aedes aegypti larvae

An optimized batch production of Bacillus thuringiensis subsp. israelensis was made in a stirred Bioflo III reactor using a previously selected medium, and operating conditions in the range of 100–500 rev/min stirrer speeds and 0.2–1 air flow/culture medium volume/minute (v/v/m) aeration rates, including five combinations; at the end of fermentation, dry powders were recovered and evaluated against Aedes aegypti larvae at 0.05 mg/l. Later, the lethal concentration inducing 50% mortality (LC₅₀) was determined for the two most toxic powders. The bioinsecticide yields varied from 9.1 to 15.7 g/l and the total fermentation times ranged between 18 and 30.3 h. The toxicity varied for two powders much more than for the others. These were for combinations with 300 rev/min:1 v/v/m and 500 rev/min:0.6 v/v/m, giving mortality percentages of 47.2 and 59.7, with LC₅₀ values of 0.2675 and 0.0685 mg/l, respectively. A t test showed no significant difference. However, the larvicidal powder produced with 300 rev/min:1 v/v/m gave more variable toxicity than the powder obtained with 500 rev/min:0.6 v/v/m.