Search results for "Bioengineering"

The effect of chemical treatment of stainless steel wire surfaces onZymomonas mobilis cell attachment and product synthesis

1998

The attachment, growth and product synthesis of non-flocculating Zymomonas mobilis cells, fixed in stainless steel wire spheres (WS), were investigated. The carrier surface was activated by treatment with titanium (IV) chloride (TiCl 4 ) and γ-aminopropyltriethoxysilane (AS) in an attempt to raise the efficiency in the immobilization of the cells. System productivity for ethanol and levan production, using cells immobilized on a modified stainless steel surface in the batch fermentation of a sucrose medium, rose as a result of increased biomass compared to the productivity of cells fixed on untreated (control) metal surfaces. Stabilized ethanol synthesis was demonstrated in the course of fo…

Levan production byZymomonas mobilis cells. Attached to plaited spheres

1997

In this work, an immobilization method for polymer-levan production by a non-flocculating Z mobilis culture was developed. The extent of cell attachment to the stainless steel wire surface, culture growth and product synthesis were described. It was established that during short-term passive immobilization of non-flocculating Z mobilis cells on a stainless steel wire surface, sufficient amounts of biomass for proper levan and ethanol fermentation could not be obtained. Adherence of cells was improved by pressing the paste-like biomass within stainless steel spheres knitted from wire with subsequent dehydration. Biomass fixed in metal spheres was used for repeated batch fermentation of levan…

Design, synthesis and photovoltaic properties of [60]fullerene based molecular materials

2005

Abstract The possibility to use new organic semiconductor materials, in place of silicon wafers, in the fabrication of photovoltaic devices on substrates offer the prospect of lower manufacturing costs, particularly for large area applications. Thus, one of the most promising areas in fullerene research involves its potential application, mixed with conjugated polymers, in mimicking photosynthesis and in the related solar energy conversion. The tendency to phase segregation in blends of C60 derivatives and conjugated polymers has to be optimized to improve both charge photogeneration and transport in photovoltaic devices. In order to optimize device performances, a great deal of work has be…

Effect of iron and aeration on superoxide dismutase and catalase activity of PHB-producing Azotobacter chroococcum

2009

Abstract The effect of aeration level and iron concentration on Azotobacter chroococcum 23 growth, PHB accumulation and antioxidative enzyme activities was investigated in shake flask experiments. Biomass yield and carbon source conversation coefficients increased in the presence of iron in the growth medium and under decreased aeration. The highest biomass production was observed for the culture grown in a medium with 36 μM of initial iron concentration and moderate aeration level. The highest PHB accumulation level (70–72% from cell dry weight) under our experimental conditions was observed at decreased aeration in the growth medium with 180 μM of initial iron concentration. Results obtai…

Translational fusion to the Pir4 cell wall protein as a general and efficient method for cell surface immobilization or growth medium secretion of re…

2008

Allelic variants of hexose transporter Hxt3p and hexokinases Hxk1p/Hxk2p in strains ofSaccharomyces cerevisiaeand interspecies hybrids

2015

The transport of sugars across the plasma membrane is a critical step in the utilization of glucose and fructose by Saccharomyces cerevisiae during must fermentations. Variations in the molecular structure of hexose transporters and kinases may affect the ability of wine yeast strains to finish sugar fermentation, even under stressful wine conditions. In this context, we sequenced and compared genes encoding the hexose transporter Hxt3p and the kinases Hxk1p/Hxk2p of Saccharomyces strains and interspecies hybrids with different industrial usages and regional backgrounds. The Hxt3p primary structure varied in a small set of amino acids, which characterized robust yeast strains used for the p…

Interrelationships between Growth Yield, ATPase and Adenylate Kinase Activities inZymomonas mobilis

2001

The presence of cytoplasmic and membrane-bound adenylate kinase (EC 2.7,4.3) as well as inorganic pyrophosphatase (EC 3.6.1.1) was detected in Zymomonas mobilis ATCC 29191. An increase in the molar growth yield (Y X/S ) of Z. mobilis under aerobic growth conditions appeared to be in proportion to a reduction of membrane-bound adenylate kinase (mAK) and ATPase activities and to an increase in cytoplasmic adenylate kinase (AK) activity. Significant (1 - P < 0.01) multiple regressions were observed between the values of Y x (dependent variable), ATPase and AK or AK and mAK as independent variables, suggesting that a combined operation of these phosphohydrolases and phosphotransferases would be…

Light induced charging of polymer functionalized nanorods.

2010

ZnO nanorods were functionalized with new block copolymers containing a hole transporting moiety in one block and a dye and an anchor system in the second block. After functionalization, the ZnO nanorods are well dispersible in organic media and the fluorescence of the dye is quenched. Kelvin probe force microscopy was used to measure changes in electrical potential between the ZnO nanorod and the polymeric corona. Upon light irradiation, potential changes on the order of some tens of millivolts were observed on individual structures. This effect is attributed to light-induced charge separation between the ZnO nanorod and its hole transporting polymeric corona.

α,β-Poly(N-Hydroxyethyl)-DL-Aspartamide Hydrogels as Drug Delivery Devices

1996

α,β-poly(N-hydroxyethyl)-DL-aspartamide (PHEA) was exposed to gamma radiation to obtain micromatrices able to swell in an aqueous medium. Crosslinked PHEA was loaded with an anti-inflammatory drug, 4-biphenylacetic acid (BPAA) and the drug dispersion in the network was investigated by X-ray analysis. The BPAA loaded PHEA microparticles were also characterized by dimensional analysis, which showed the presence of quasispherical shapes. The drug release from PHEA hydrogel was studied in vitro in a pH 1.1 (simulated gastric juice) and in a pH 7.4 buffer solution, respectively. The experimental data indicate that an anomalous delivery occurs, but Fickian diffusion through swollen PHEA hydrogel…

A bio-orthogonal functionalization strategy for site-specific coupling of antibodies on vesicle surfaces after self-assembly

2019

Attaching targeting ligands on the surface of self-assembled drug delivery systems is the key request for a controlled transport of the drug to a desired location. Most commonly, the amphiphilic molecules (blockcopolymers, lipids etc.) are therefore pre-functionalized before the self-assembly takes place. However, this strategy cannot be applied, if it interferes with the self-assembly process, if the introduced functional groups react with loaded cargo or if natural carriers like extracellular vesicles should be functionalized. Here, we present the site-specific coupling of antibodies to the surface of amino group-terminated liposomes via bio-orthogonal copper-free click chemistry after li…