Microbial susceptibility of various polymers and evaluation of thermoplastic elastomers with antimicrobial additives

The incursion of microbial growth on polymeric products can deteriorate their performance and lead to the development of undesirable staining and odors. A growing trend in the industry has aimed to reduce microbial populations on high-touch surfaces via the use of antimicrobials to protect material aesthetics and durability or to prevent the spread of pathogenic microorganisms. In this study, a variety of plastic substrates (30 unique polymer compounds), including poly(acrylonitrile-co-butadiene-co-styrene), poly(butylene terephthalate), poly(etherimide), various thermoplastic elastomers (TPEs), poly(carbonates), and poly(amides), were screened for susceptibility to microbial attack using American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) G21 (fungi susceptibility), Japanese Industrial Standard (JIS) Z2801, and modified ASTM E1428-15a (bacterial susceptibility) test standards. TPEs were determined to be most susceptible to microbial attack under the appropriate environmental conditions. Subsequent studies assessed the use of an antimicrobial additive, zinc pyrithione (ZPT), for potential efficacy in a variety of TPE blends for diverse target market applications. ZPT proved to be very effective in protecting TPEs, reducing Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli populations by 99.9% or more in JIS Z2801 testing and inhibiting fungal growth (rating = 0) according to the ASTM G21 standard.     

Effect of nickel concentration on biohydrogen production: Organic solid waste vs. glucose

In recent years, alternative renewable energy generation sources have been investigated, highlighting the dark fermentation process due to it’s potential to obtain hydrogen-rich gas, which can be used as an energy source. Different trace metals intervene in this biological process. Nickel is one of the most important because it is a component of the [Ni–Fe] hydrogenase enzyme that catalyzes the oxidation of H₂ in numerous bacteria. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of nickel on biohydrogen production from organic solid waste (OSW). The experimental setup was carried out in batch tests using OSW as the substrate, glucose as a reference compound and the valuation of Ni²⁺ doses on the operation in a Sequencing Batch Reactor. The results of the batch tests showed that when using glucose as a substrate, 2 mg Ni²⁺/g VS_inoculum generated the highest hydrogen production (774 ± 7.3 mL H₂/L/d) and highest yield (55.8 ± 3.4 mL H₂/g of glucose), which was 34.4% higher than the control. Testing of different concentrations of nickel using OSW as a carbon source showed that the highest production was obtained without Ni²⁺ addition since the nickel concentration in the residue was 0.17 ± 0.06 mgNi/gVS; consequently, hydrogen production was not affected by the lack of Ni. The addition of 0.5 mg Ni²⁺/g VS_inoculum decreased acetate and butyrate production and increased caproate production.     

Cladophora sp. as a sustainable feedstock for dark fermentative biohydrogen production

Macroalgae are rich in carbohydrates which can be used as a promising substrate for fermentative biohydrogen production. In this study, Cladophora sp. biomass was fermented for biohydrogen production at various inoculum/substrate (I/S) ratios against a control of inoculum without substrate in laboratory-scale batch reactors. The biohydrogen production yield ranged from 40.8 to 54.7 ml H₂/g-VS, with the I/S ratio ranging from 0.0625 to 4. The results indicated that low I/S ratios caused the overloaded accumulation of metabolic products and a significant pH decrease, which negatively affected hydrogen production bacteria's metabolic activity, thus leading to the decrease of hydrogen fermentation efficiency. The overall results demonstrated that Cladophora sp. biomass is an efficient fermentation feedstock for biohydrogen production.     

Burkholderia thailandensis E264/pBMTL3-tdpR发酵生产抗癌药物ThailandepsinA的研究

在伯克氏菌Bth264野生株产新型抗癌药物Thailandepsin A以及调节基因tdp R正向调控Thailandepsin A生物合成的基础上,利用基因工程菌Bth264/p BMTL3-tdp R发酵生产Thailandepsin A,以提高产量。以0.5%乳糖为诱导剂,确定最佳诱导条件:发酵15 h添加乳糖,诱导时间6 h;通过单因素实验,确定葡萄糖和胰蛋白胨作为碳氮源、装液量65/250 m L以及接种量1%;同时结合优化发酵培养基进行发酵,Thailandepsin A产量达到252.14 mg·L-1,比优化前的产量提高56%;另外在发酵过程中,添加大孔树脂HP-20原位吸附产物,Thailandepsin A产量可达283.75 mg·L-1,比不加树脂提高13.8%;最后,基于RT-PCR和比较Ct值法,基因工程菌和野生菌相比,Thailandepsin A生物合成基因tdp B、tdp C1的转录水平分别提高11.4倍和6.0倍,对应的产量增加4.6倍,从而在很大程度上说明调节基因tdp R的过表达促进生物合成基因转录水平的提高以及产量的增加。     

Advances in the in vitro digestion and fermentation of polysaccharides

In vitro digestion models are widely used to study the structural changes, digestion and release of food components under simulated gastrointestinal conditions. As compared to the in vivo digestion tests, the in vitro digestion reflects the digestion and utilisation of food after ingestion and has the advantages of being time consuming, inexpensive, reproducible and free from moral and ethical restrictions. This study reviewed the current research studies on the in vitro simulated digestion of polysaccharides conducted in the last 5 years and focused on the oral, gastric and intestinal digestion models, with the aim of providing a basis for the further testing of changes in the content, structure and active ingredients of polysaccharides before and after digestion.     

Effect of the cultivation mode on red pigments production from Monascus ruber

In submerged cultures performed in chemically defined fermentation medium containing glucose and glutamate, the growth and production of water‐soluble red pigments and citrinin by the filamentous fungus Monascus ruber were studied under various carbon/nitrogen (C/N) ratios. The specific production of the red pigments was optimal at a glucose/glutamate ratio of about 10 and then steadily decreased at higher C/N ratio. In contrast, the production of the mycotoxin increased with increased C/N with an optimum in the range of 30–45. In a fed‐batch mode, it was also found that the production of pigments was not favoured in fed‐batch mode by feeding the medium with glucose while keeping the C/N ratio lower than 10. This low production likely resulted from concurrent high accumulation of L‐malic acid that was reported to inhibit this production. In contrast, this mode of cultivation was rather favourable for the production of the mycotoxin.