Use of glucose oxidase in a membrane reactor for gluconic acid production.

This article aims at the evaluation of the catalytic performance of glucose oxidase (GO) (EC.1.1.3.4) for the glucose/gluconic acid conversion in the ultrafiltration cell type membrane reactor (MB-CSTR). The reactor was coupled with a Millipore ultrafiltration-membrane (cutoff of 100 kDa) and operated for 24 h under agitation of 100 rpm, pH 5.5, and 30 degrees C. The experimental conditions varied were the glucose concentration (2.5, 5.0, 10.0, 20.0, and 40.0 mM), the feeding rate (0.5, 1.0, 3.0, and 6.0/h), dissolved oxygen (8.0 and 16.0 mg/L), GO concentration (2.5, 5.0, 10.0, and 20.0 U(GO)/mL), and the glucose oxidase/catalase activity ratio (U(GO)/U(CAT))(1:0, 1:10, 1:20, and 1:30). A conversion yield of 80% and specific reaction rate of 40 x 10(-4) mmol/h x U(GO) were attained when the process was carried out under the following conditions: D =3.0/h, dissolved oxygen =16.0 mg/L, [G] =40 mM, and (U(GO)/U(CAT)) =1:20. A simplified model for explaining the inhibition of GO activity by hydrogen peroxide, formed during the glucose/gluconic acid conversion, was presented.

Biosurfactant production by cultivation of Bacillus atrophaeus ATCC 9372 in semidefined glucose/casein-based media.

Biosurfactants are proteins with detergent, emulsifier, and antimicrobial actions that have potential application in environmental applications such as the treatment of organic pollutants and oil recovery. Bacillus atrophaeus strains are nonpathogenic and are suitable source of biosurfactants, among which is surfactin. The aim of this work is to establish a culture medium composition able to stimulate biosurfactants production by B. atrophaeus ATCC 9372. Batch cultivations were carried out in a rotary shaker at 150 rpm and 35 degrees C for 24 h on glucose-and/or casein-based semidefined culture media also containing sodium chloride, dibasic sodium phosphate, and soy flour. The addition of 14.0 g/L glucose in a culture medium containing 10.0 g/L of casein resulted in 17 times higher biosurfactant production (B(max)=635.0 mg/L). Besides, the simultaneous presence of digested casein (10.0 g/L), digested soy flour (3.0 g/L), and glucose (18.0 g/L) in the medium was responsible for a diauxic effect during cell growth. Once the diauxie started, the average biosurfactants concentration was 16.8% less than that observed before this phenomenon. The capability of B. atrophaeus strain to adapt its own metabolism to use several nutrients as energy sources and to preserve high levels of biosurfactants in the medium during the stationary phase is a promising feature for its possible application in biological treatments.

Fed-batch production of glucose 6-phosphate dehydrogenase using recombinant Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

The strain Saccharomyces cerevisiae W303-181, having the plasmid YEpPGK-G6P (built by coupling the vector YEPLAC 181 with the promoter phosphoglycerate kinase 1), was cultured by fed-batch process in order to evaluate its capability in the formation of glucose 6-phosphate dehydrogenase (EC.1.1.1.49). Two liters of culture medium (10.0 g/L glucose, 3.7 g/L yeast nitrogen broth (YNB), 0.02 g/L L-tryptophan, 0.02 g/L L-histidine, 0.02 g/L uracil, and 0.02 g/L adenine) were inoculated with 1.5 g dry cell/L and left fermenting in the batch mode at pH 5.7, aeration of 2.2 vvm, 30 degrees C, and agitation of 400 rpm. After glucose concentration in the medium was lower than 1.0 g/L, the cell culture was fed with a solution of glucose (10.0 g/L) or micronutrients (L-tryptophan, L-histidine, uracil, and adenine each one at a concentration of 0.02 g/L) following the constant, linear, or exponential mode. The volume of the culture medium in the fed-batch process was varied from 2 L up to 3 L during 5 h. The highest glucose 6-phosphate dehydrogenase activity (350 U/L; 1 U=1 micromol of NADP/min) occurred when the glucose solution was fed into the fermenter through the decreasing linear mode.

Oxidation of glucose to gluconic acid by glucose oxidase in a membrane bioreactor.

Glucose oxidase (GO) (EC 1.1.3.4) was used as catalyst for oxidizing glucose into gluconic acid utilizing a 10-mL Bioengineering Enzyme Membrane Reactor or a 400-mL Millipore Stirred Ultrafiltration Cell (MSUC) coupled with a Millipore UF membrane (cutoff of 100 kDa) and operated for 12 h under an agitation of 100 rpm, pH 5.5, and 30 degrees C. The effect of feeding rate (0.10, 0.15, or 0.20 min-1), glucose (2.5 or 5.0 mM), and GO (1.0 or 2.0 mg/mL) concentrations on the catalysis were studied. A yield of about 75% was attained when the MSUC filled with 1.0 mg/mL of GO was fed with 2.5 mM glucose solution at a rate of 0.15 min-1.