Production of antifungal lipopeptide from <Emphasis Type="Italic">Bacillus subtilis</Emphasis> in submerged fermentation using shake flask and fermentor

Optimization of the production of antifungal lipopeptide, iturin A, by B. subtilis was carried out in submerged cultural fermentation. In a shake-flask experiment, response surface methodology (RSM) was employed to optimize the cultivation conditions of Bacillus subtilis S3 for the enhancement of iturin A production. The optimal conditions for iturin A production obtained from RSM were pH 6.0, 0.93% maltodextrin, 1.11% glucose, 0.72% corn steep powder (C.S.P), 1.5 mM MgSO₄, 0.75 mM KH₂PO₄, rotation speed 180 rpm and area of aeration 4.35 cm². 57% increase of iturin A productivity (from 47.19 mg/L to 74.22 mg/L) was observed using the one-factor-at -a-time technique; however, 180% increase of iturin A productivity (from 47.19 mg/L to 132.23 mg/L) was observed with RSM. The iturin A production was further studied in a 5-L fermentor with a variation of agitation speed, aeration and baffles. In the 5-L fermentor, it was found that increased agitation speed improved the growth of B. subtilis and the production of iturin A. Aeration at 2 vvm gave excellent production of iturin A (175.52 mg/L) at 6 d of fermentation. The addition of baffles in the fermentor has significantly influenced the oxygen mass transfer coefficient (KLa) and iturin A production.     

Economic potential of bioremediation using immobilized microalgae-based microbial fuel cells

Clean Technologies and Environmental Policy - The cathodic microalgae-based MFC converts the nutrients within wastewater and produces oxygen as oxygen supply for cathodic reactions, leading to the...     

Effects on cytokine-stimulating activities of EPS from Tremella mesenterica with various carbon sources

The effects on cytokine-stimulating activities of extracellular polysaccharides from submerged cultures with various carbon sources of Tremella mesenterica were investigated in vitro. The predominant sugars in EPS identified in this study were glucose, mannose, xylose, and galactose. The results indicated that the component sugar and uronic acids within the EPS vary with the different carbon sources, a variation which also affects cytokine (interlukin-6 and tumor necrosis factor-α) and nitric oxide production in RAW 264.7 macrophage cells. Xylose and glucose were better carbon sources from the viewpoint of immunomodulatory activity due to the relatively high mannose content in EPS.     

Biodegradable Blends Prepared from Polycaprolactone and Poly(glutamic acid): Structure,Thermal Properties,and Biodegradability

Biodegradable polycaprolactone/poly(glutamic acid) (PCL/PGA) blends were prepared by a melt blending method. Additionally, acrylic acid-grafted polycaprolactone (PCL-g-AA) was studied as an alternative to PCL. The samples were characterized using Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), an Instron mechanical tester, and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Because of poor compatibility between PCL and PGA, the mechanical properties of PCL/PGA blends were worse than of PCL alone. The PCL-g-AA/PGA blends had obviously improved mechanical properties over PCL/PGA ones, and the former provided a plateau tensile strength at break when the PGA content was up to 20 wt%. Biodegradation tests of blends were also conducted in a soil environment; the results showed that the mass of blends declined by about the PGA content within 4 weeks.     

Simultaneous Removal of Carbon and Nitrogen from Swine Wastewater Using an Immobilized-Cell Reactor

A single-stage phosphorylated polyvinyl alcohol immobilized-cell reactor with three operation modes was employed to investigate the efficiency of simultaneous carbon/nitrogen removal from raw swine wastewater. In continuous aeration mode, the removal efficiency of chemical oxygen demand (COD) and total nitrogen (T-N) exceeded 70 and 8%, respectively, at hydraulic retention time of 10?days. In intermittent aeration (IA) mode, the removal efficiency of COD and T-N was more than 85 and 46%, respectively, when the reactor was set at 50% aeration duration to cycle time to operate at three aerobic-anoxic cycles per day. When oxidation-reduction-potential control was adopted to control the duration of the anoxic period in the real-time controlled (RTC) IA mode for a 4?h aeration period, the total cycle time was reduced by about 20% with a slight increase in removal efficiency of COD (87%) and T-N (47%). The system with no extra chambers required is efficient in simultaneous carbon/nitrogen removal.