Home About us Contact
|
Home About us Contact | ||
|
|
||
Polymer Production (polymer + production)
Selected AbstractsEffect of galactose and glucose on the exopolysaccharide production and the activities of biosynthetic enzymes in Lactobacillus casei CRL 87JOURNAL OF APPLIED MICROBIOLOGY, Issue 1 2001F. Mozzi Aims: The objective of this work was to study the influence of the sugar source on exopolysaccharide (EPS) production and the activities of the enzymes involved in the synthesis of sugar nucleotides in Lactobacillus casei CRL 87. The relationship between these enzymes and EPS formation was determined. Methods and Results: The concentration of EPS was estimated by the phenol/sulphuric acid method while the chemical composition of purified EPS was investigated using gas-liquid chromatography. Biosynthetic enzyme activities were determined spectrophotometrically by measuring the formation or disappearance of NAD(P)H at 340 nm. Polysaccharide production by Lb. casei CRL 87 was 1·7 times greater on galactose than on glucose. The isolated polymer was composed of rhamnose, glucose and galactose. The activities of uridine-diphosphate (UDP)-glucose-pyrophosphorylase, thymidine-diphosphate (dTDP)-glucose-pyrophosphorylase and the dTDP-rhamnose-synthetic enzyme system were higher in galactose-grown than in glucose-grown cells. When an EPS, mutant strain was used, galactokinase activity was not detected on galactose, this sugar not being available for the formation of sugar nucleotides for further EPS production. dTDP-glucose-pyrophosphorylase and dTDP-rhamnose-synthetic enzyme system activities were lower than the values found for the wild type strain. Conclusions: The carbon source present in the culture medium affects EPS production by Lb. casei CRL 87. The greater polymer synthesis by galactose-grown cells is correlated with the higher UDP-glucose-pyrophosphorylase, dTDP-glucose-pyrophosphorylase and dTDP-rhamnose-synthetic enzyme system activities. Initial sugar metabolism is also an important step for the synthesis of EPS precursors by this strain. Significance and Impact of the Study: Knowledge of the effect of the sugar source on EPS production and the activities of biosynthetic enzymes provides information about the mechanisms of regulation of the synthesis of EPS which can contribute to improving polymer production. [source] Gas-phase-assisted surface polymerization of methyl methacrylate with Fe(0)/TsCl initiator systemJOURNAL OF APPLIED POLYMER SCIENCE, Issue 3 2007Yoshito Andou Abstract To obtain a high polymer coated Fe(0) surface, gas-phase-assisted surface polymerization (GASP) of methyl methacrylate (MMA) was investigated using a zero-valent iron (Fe(0))/p -toluene sulfonylchloride (TsCl) initiator system, resulting in successful high polymer production on the solid surface. GASP was found to be initiated by radical species that might have been generated via redox reactions with Fe(0), Fe(II), Fe(III), and TsCl. From 1H-NMR analysis, the p -toluene sulfonyl group was found at one end of the polymer chain. The molecular weight of obtained PMMA drastically decreased with increase in the composition ratio of Fe(0) in the initiator system, and increased with increase in polymer yield. From the results, it was assumed that the physically controlled polymerization of MMA proceeded by immobilized active species at gas,solid interfaces. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 103: 1879,1886, 2007 [source] Fundamentals and development of high-efficiency supported catalyst systems for atom transfer radical polymerizationJOURNAL OF POLYMER SCIENCE (IN TWO SECTIONS), Issue 4 2007Santiago Faucher Abstract Atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) is a controlled/living radical polymerization process developed a decade ago that allows the synthesis of tailored macromolecules. It has been widely used in the laboratory for polymer synthesis since but little use has been made of it at the industrial scale for polymer production. This is due to the low activity of the ATRP catalyst that is central to the process. Much work has been done over the years to overcome this challenge, and the greatest successes have been achieved through catalyst supporting and recycling. We present here a historical account of the development of supported ATRP catalysts while shedding light on their present and future challenges. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 45: 553,565, 2007 [source] Quantitative determination of perfluorooctanoic acid ammonium salt in human serum by high-performance liquid chromatography with atmospheric pressure chemical ionization tandem mass spectrometryRAPID COMMUNICATIONS IN MASS SPECTROMETRY, Issue 7 2002Cristina Sottani A sensitive, specific, accurate and reproducible analytical method was developed and validated to quantify perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) in human serum. After initial extraction with an ion-paring reagent, the procedure for quantifying PFOA is based on high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) interfaced to negative ion tandem mass spectrometry, operating in selected ion monitoring mode. The retention times of PFOA and its internal standard (D,L-malic acid) were 5.85 and 1.70,min, respectively. The assay was linear over the range 0,500,ng/mL, with a lower limit of quantification (LOQ) of 25,ng/mL, and with a coefficient of variation (CV) of 7.3%. The lower limit of detection (LOD) was assessed as 10,ng/mL. The overall precision and accuracy were assessed on three different days. The within- and between-day precision was ,9.7 and 6.8%, respectively, and the accuracy was in the range 96,114%. The mean extracted recovery assessed at three different concentrations (100, 250, and 500,ng/mL) was always more than 85%. With this method no derivatization procedure was needed, thus avoiding possible thermal and chemical decomposition reactions of PFOA. The assay was applied to quantify perfluorooctanoic acid in serum from employees exposed to fluorochemicals commonly used in industrial applications for polymer production. The quantitative results for PFOA blood levels were found to vary between 100 and 982,ng/mL. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Effect of the applied organic load rate on biodegradable polymer production by mixed microbial cultures in a sequencing batch reactorBIOTECHNOLOGY & BIOENGINEERING, Issue 1 2006Davide Dionisi Abstract This article studies the operation of a new process for the production of biopolymers (polyhydroxyalkanoates, PHAs) at different applied organic load rates (OLRs). The process is based on the aerobic enrichment of activated sludge to obtain mixed cultures able to store PHAs at high rates and yields. A mixture of acetic, lactic, and propionic acids at different concentrations (in the range 8.5,31.25 gCOD/L) was fed every 2 h in a sequencing batch reactor (SBR). The resulting applied OLR was in the range 8.5,31.25 gCOD/L/day. Even though, as expected, the increase in the OLR caused an increase in biomass concentration (up to about 8.7 g COD/L), it also caused a relevant decrease of maximal polymer production rate. This decrease in polymer production rate was related to the different extent of "feast and famine" conditions, as function of the applied OLR and of the start-up conditions. As a consequence the best performance of the process was obtained at an intermediate OLR (20 gCOD/L/day) where both biomass productivity and PHA storage were high enough. However, at this high OLR the process was unstable and sudden decrease of performance was also observed. The sludge characterized by the highest PHA storage response was investigated by 16S rDNA clone library. The clone library contained sequences mostly from PHA producers (e.g., Alcaligenes and Comamonas genera); however many genera and among them, one of the dominant (Thauera), were never described before in relation to PHA storage response. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. [source] Identification of gene disruptions for increased poly-3-hydroxybutyrate accumulation in Synechocystis PCC 6803BIOTECHNOLOGY PROGRESS, Issue 5 2009Keith E. J. Tyo Abstract Inverse metabolic engineering (IME) is a combinatorial approach for identifying genotypes associated with a particular phenotype of interest. In this study, gene disruptions that increase the biosynthesis of poly-3-hydroxybutyrate (PHB) in the photosynthetic bacterium Synechocystis PCC6803 were identified. A Synechocystis mutant library was constructed by homologous recombination between the Synechocystis genome and a mutagenized genomic plasmid library generated through transposon insertion. Using a fluorescence-activated cell sorting-based high throughput screen, high PHB accumulating mutants from the library grown in different nutrient conditions were isolated and characterized. While several mutants isolated from the screen had increased PHB accumulation, transposon insertions in only two ORFs could be linked to increased PHB production. Disruptions of sll0461, coding for gamma-glutamyl phosphate reductase (proA), and sll0565, a hypothetical protein, resulted in increased accumulation in standard growth media and acetate supplemented media. These genetic perturbations have increased PHB accumulation in Synechocystis and serve as markers for engineering increased polymer production in higher photosynthetic organisms. © 2009 American Institute of Chemical Engineers Biotechnol. Prog., 2009 [source] | |||||||||||||