Stimulation of Erwinia sp. Fumarase and aspartase synthesis by changing medium components

The optimal concentrations of nutrient medium components, aeration conditions, and pH providing for maximum biomass yields, as well as fumarase and l-aspartase activities, during submerged cultivation of Erwinia sp. were determined. The data showed that different concentrations of carbon source (molasses) and pH of the nutrient medium were required to reach the maximum fumarase and l-aspartase activities. Calculations performed by application of the additive lattice model suggested that the combination of these optimized factors would result in 3.2-, 3.4-, and 3.8-fold increases as compared to the experimental means in Erwinia sp. biomass, and l-aspartase and fumarase activities, respectively. The conditions of the fumaric acid biotransformations into l-malic and l-aspartic acids were optimized on the basis of intact Erwinia sp. cells, a fumarase and l-aspartase producer. In the cases of fumarate transformation into l-malic acid and of fumarate transformation into l-aspartic acids, fumarase and l-aspartase activities increased 1.5- and 1.7-fold, respectively. The experimental data were consistent with these estimates to 80% accuracy. In comparison with the additive lattice model, the application of polynomial nonlinear model allowed the between-factor relations to be considered and analyzed, which resulted in 1.1-, 1.27-, and 1.1-fold increases in Erwinia sp. biomass and fumarase and l-aspartase activities for the case of cultivation. In the case of fumarate transformation into l-malic acid, this model demonstrated a 1.7-fold increase in fumarase activity, whereas during fumarate transformation into l-aspartic acid no significant change in aspartase activity was observed.     

Nanodroplet Cluster Formation in Ionic Liquid Microemulsions

A common ionic liquid (IL), 1‐butyl‐3‐methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate (bmimBF₄), is used as polar solvent to induce the formation of a reverse bmimBF₄‐in‐toluene IL microemulsion with the aid of the nonionic surfactant Triton X‐100. The swelling process of the microemulsion droplets by increasing bmimBF₄ content is detected by dynamic light scattering (DLS), conductivity, UV/Vis spectroscopy, and freeze‐fracture transmission electron microscopy (FF–TEM). The results show that the microemulsion droplets initially formed are enlarged by the addition of bmimBF₄. However, successive addition of bmimBF₄ lead to the appearance of large‐sized microemulsion droplet clusters (200–400 nm). NMR spectroscopic analysis reveal that the special structures and properties of bmimBF₄ and Triton X‐100 together with the polar nature of toluene contribute to the formation of such self‐assemblies. These unique self‐assembled structures of IL‐based microemulsion droplet clusters may have some unusual and unique properties with a number of interesting possibilities for potential applications.     

Spectrophotometric determination of nonionic surfactants by flow injection analysis utilizing ion-pair extraction and an improved phase separator

The proposed flow-injection determination of nonionic surfactants of the general type RO(CH₂CH₂O)nH (where R is an alkyl or alkylphenyl group and n is the number of moles of oxyethylene group) is based on extraction of the colored ion-pair product formed between the nonionic surfactant and the regent tetrabromophenolphthalein ethyl ester potassium salt (TBPE-K). The complex is extracted into 1,2-dichloroethane and measured at 609 nm. A new phase separator is described. Triton X-100 is used as a model compounds, for which response is linear in the range 2–60 mg l^?1. Precision of the method is excellent with a relative standard deviation of <1.0%. The sensitivity of the method depends on the type of surfactant examined.     

Preparation of Tube‐Like ZrO2/NaCl by Microemulsion Method

On the basis of w/o microemulsion and surfactant template‐assembly technology, tube‐like ZrO₂/NaCl was prepared using sodium bicarbonate as precipitant. The w/o microemulsion consisted of a nonionic surfactant OP emulsifier, cosurfactant pentanol and oil hexamethylene alkyl. The morphology, structure, and optical properties of the tube‐like ZrO₂/NaCl have been studied by SEM, XRD, FTIR, UV‐vis, and PL techniques.     

Reversal of Enantiomeric Retention Order by Using a Single N-Derivatized Dipeptide as Chiral Mobile Phase Additive and Porous Graphitised Carbon as Stationary Phase

In this work the three dipeptides, Z-l-alanyl-l-glutaric acid (Z-l-ala-l-glu), Z-l-phenylanyl-l-glutaric acid (Z-l-phe-l-glu) and Z-glycyl-l-glutaric acid (Z-gly-l-glu) were tested as chiral counter ions for enantiomeric resolution of amino alcohols. The influence of solute and counter ion structure upon retention and enantioselectivity was evaluated. The chiral counter ions were dissolved in a mixture of polar solvents, i.e., ethyl acetate, methanol and acetonitrile and the achiral solid phase used was porous graphitic carbon, marketed as Hypercarb. The enantioselectivities observed for the tested solutes were highly influenced by the used chiral counter ion structure. For example no enantioselectivity was observed for (R,S)-alprenolol using Z-l-ala-l-glu while a separation factor (α) of 1.59 was obtained using Z-l-phe-l-glu as chiral counter ion. High selectivity factors (α > 2.7) were observed between enantiomers of tertiary amines using Z-l-phe-l-glu as counter ion. Interestingly, the structure of the counter ion, as well as the charge on Z-l-phe-l-glu and the mobile phase solvent composition, influenced the retention order of the enantiomers.     

Extraction of cobalt by the AOT microemulsion system

The extraction of cobalt by Winsor II microemulsion system was studied. In the bis (2-ethylhexyl) sulfosuccinate sodium salt (AOT)/n-pentanol/n-heptane/NaCl system, AOT was used as a anionic surfactant to form microemulsion in n-heptane, n-pentanol was injected in the microemulsion as a cosurfactant. Co(II) was found to be extracted into the microemulsion phase due to ion pair formation such as Co²⁺(R–SO₃ ⁻)Cl. The influence of different parameters such as the volume ratio of aqueous phase to microemulsion, surfactant concentration, pH of the feed solutions, cosurfactant concentration as well as temperature on the extraction yield (E%) were investigated. The results showed that it was possible to extract 95% of cobalt by the AOT Winsor II microemulsion.     

Extraction of europium by sodium oleate/pentanol/heptane/NaCl microemulsion system

The extraction of europium to a W/O microemulsion with an anionic surfactant was studied. In the sodium oleate (NaOL)/pentanol/heptane/NaCl system, the influence of aqueous-microemulsion ratio, concentration of NaOL, extraction temperature, concentration of cosurfactant, pH and salting-out agent on the extraction yield were investigated. Europium was probably extracted into the microemulsion phase in the form of Eu(OL)₂Cl, and the extraction yield (E%) was above 99% when R = 8. The enthalpy and entropy of Eu(III) extraction were calculated to be −12.18 kJ/mol and −61.41 J/(mol K), respectively. The back-extraction is conducted by hydrochloric acid (0.8 mol/L), which provided better back-extraction yields (95.15%).     

Layered structure of room-temperature ionic liquids in microemulsions by multinuclear NMR spectroscopic studies

Microemulsions form in mixtures of polar, nonpolar, and amphiphilic molecules. Typical microemulsions employ water as the polar phase. However, microemulsions can form with a polar phase other than water, which hold promise to diversify the range of properties, and hence utility, of microemulsions. Here microemulsions formed by using a room‐temperature ionic liquid (RTIL) as the polar phase were created and characterized by using multinuclear NMR spectroscopy. ¹H, ¹¹B, and ¹⁹F NMR spectroscopy was applied to explore differences between microemulsions formed by using 1‐butyl‐3‐methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate ([bmim][BF₄]) as the polar phase with a cationic surfactant, benzylhexadecyldimethylammonium chloride (BHDC), and a nonionic surfactant, Triton X‐100 (TX‐100). NMR spectroscopy showed distinct differences in the behavior of the RTIL as the charge of the surfactant head group varies in the different microemulsion environments. Minor changes in the chemical shifts were observed for [bmim]⁺ and [BF₄]^? in the presence of TX‐100 suggesting that the surfactant and the ionic liquid are separated in the microemulsion. The large changes in spectroscopic parameters observed are consistent with microstructure formation with layering of [bmim]⁺ and [BF₄]^? and migration of Cl^? within the BHDC microemulsions. Comparisons with NMR results for related ionic compounds in organic and aqueous environments as well as literature studies assisted the development of a simple organizational model for these microstructures.     

Study on the Polarity of bmimPF6/Tween80/toluene Microemulsion Characterized by UV-Visible Spectroscopy

With the aid of nonionic surfactant Tween80, the ionic liquid 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium hexafluorophosphate (bmimPF₆) forms nonaqueous microemulsions with toluene. The phase diagram of the ternary system was prepared at 25°C. It was demonstrated that there were a single-phase region and a two-phase region in the ternary phase diagram. The single-phase region could be further divided into toluene-in-bmimPF₆, bicontinuous and bmimPF₆-in-toluene microemulsion regions by electrical conductivity. And by the use of methyl orange as an absorption probe, the polarity of the bmimPF₆-in-toluene microemulsion was probed by UV-vis spectroscopy. A relatively constant polarity of the microemulsion droplets is obtained in the bmimPF₆ microemulsion.     

Simultaneous reactive extraction separation of amino acids from water with D2EHPA in hollow fiber contactors

Reactive extraction separation of binary amino acids from water using a microporous hollow fiber has been studied, in which the acidic extractant di(2-ethylhexyl)phosphoric acid (D2EHPA) was selected as an active carrier dissolved in kerosene. l-Phenylalanine (Phe) was extracted from an aqueous solution through the shell side of module to the organic phase through the lumen of fiber in the extraction module, in which l-Phe was then back-extracted to stripping phase in stripping module. Experiments were conducted as a function of the initial feed concentration of equimolar Phe and l-aspartic acid (l-Asp) (5 mol/m³), feed pH (3–5), the carrier concentration (0.1–0.5 mol/dm³), and stripping acidity (0.1–2 mol/dm³). The effect of process variables on the separation factor of Phe/Asp and the possible transport resistances including aqueous-layer diffusion, membrane diffusion, organic-layer, and interfacial chemical reaction were quantitatively studied and discussed. The high separation factor (β) of Phe/Asp was obtained to be 18.5 at feed pH 5 and 2 mol/dm³ of strip solution (HCl). The extraction and stripping processes appear to rely on pH dependence of the distribution coefficient of amino acids in reactive extraction system. The separation factor (β) was enhanced in hollow fiber membrane (HFM) process compared with conventional solvent process, which was a result of the counter transport of hydrogen ions.     

Hydrolysis of Hydrophobic Esters in a Bicontinuous Microemulsion Catalysed by Lipase B from Candida antarctica

Selective enzyme‐catalysed biotransformations offer great potential in organic chemistry. However, special requirements are needed to achieve optimum enzyme activity and stability. A bicontinuous microemulsion is proposed as reaction medium because of its large connected interface between oil and water domains at which a lipase can adsorb and convert substrates in the oil phase of the microemulsion. Herein, a microemulsion consisting of buffer–n‐octane–nonionic surfactant C_iE_j was used to investigate the key factors that determine hydrolyses of p‐nitrophenyl esters catalysed by the lipase B from Candida antarctica (CalB). The highest CalB activity was found around 44 °C in the absence of NaCl and substrates with larger alkyl chains were better hydrolysed than their short‐chained homologues. The CalB activity was determined using two different co‐surfactants, namely the phospholipid 1,2‐dioleoyl‐sn‐glycero‐3‐phosphocholine (DOPC) and the sugar surfactant decyl β‐D ‐glucopyranoside (β‐C₁₀G₁). The results show the CalB activity as linear function of both enzyme and substrate concentration with an enhanced activity when the sugar surfactant is used as co‐surfactant.     

无表面活性剂微乳液体系：N,N－二甲基甲酰胺/呋喃甲醛/水

通常微乳液一般由四个组分构成：水相、油相、表面活性剂和助表面活性剂。本文报道了一种不含表面活性剂的微乳液体系(简称SFME),由呋喃甲醛(油相),水和N,N－二甲基甲酰胺(DMF)三组分构成,不含传统的表面活性剂。对其相行为进行了研究,发现存在一个单相微乳液区和一个两相平衡区。采用电导率法和冷冻蚀刻电镜(FF-TEM)考察了单相区域中微乳液的微结构,结果表明可分为油包水(O/W)、双连续(BC)和水包油(W/O)三个区域。液滴直径介于40-70nm。     

<Emphasis Type="SmallCaps">d</Emphasis>-Amino Acids in Animal Peptides

Summary. Secreted peptides from diverse sources have been found to contain a d-amino acid. From the sequence of cloned mRNAs coding for the precursors of such peptides it could be deduced that in all cases tested so far the d-amino acid in the final product is derived from the corresponding l-amino acid present in the primary product of translation. Enzymes catalyzing such an l- to d-isomerization in peptide linkage have been isolated from the venom of a spider and the skin secretions of frogs. Even though these are completely different proteins, the reaction mechanism is the same, namely a de-protonation/re-protonation of the α-carbon of an amino acid with concomitant inversion of the chirality. Sequences potentially coding for homologues of the frog enzyme are present in the genome of different vertebrate species.     

Anticancer Properties of Highly Purified l-Asparaginase from Withania somnifera L. against Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia

Withania somnifera L. has been traditionally used as a sedative and hypnotic. The present study was carried out for the purification, characterization, and in vitro cytotoxicity of l-asparaginase from W. somnifera L. l-Asparaginase was purified from the fruits of W. somnifera L. up to 95% through chromatography. The purified l-asparaginase was characterized by size exclusion chromatography, polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (PAGE), and 2D PAGE. The antitumor and growth inhibition effect of the l-asparaginase was assessed using [3-(4, 5-dimethyl-thiazol-2yl)-2, 5-diphenyl-tetrazolium bromide] (MTT) colorimetric dye reduction method. The purified enzyme is a homodimer, with a molecular mass of 72 ± 0.5 kDa, and the pI value of the enzyme was around 5.1. This is the first report of the plant containing l-asparaginase with antitumor activity. Data obtained from the MTT assay showed a LD₅₀ value of 1.45 ± 0.05 IU/ml. W. somnifera L. proved to be an effective and a novel source of l-asparaginase. Furthermore, it shows a lot of similarity with bacterial l-asparaginases EC-2.     

Optimization of l -(+)-lactic acid production using pelletized filamentous Rhizopus oryzae NRRL 395

Lactic acid is used as a food additive for flavor and preservation and a precursor in the development of poly-lactic acid, a product used to make biodegradable plastics and textiles. Rhizopus oryzae NRRL 395 is known to be a strain that produces optically pure l-(+)-lactic acid. The morphology of Rhizopus cultures is complex, forming filamentous, clumps, and pellet mycelia. Different morphology growth has significant effects on lactic acid production. In bioreactors, the filamentous or clump mycelia increase the viscosity of the medium, wrap around impellers, and block the nutrient transportation, leading to a decrease in production efficiency and bioreactor performance. Growing fungi in pellet form can significantly improve these problems. In this study, factors that affect lactic acid production in pelletized flask cultures using R. oryzae NRRL 395 were investigated in detail. Completely randomized designs were used to determine the influence of culture temperature, time, concentration of glucose, and inoculum size. Lactic acid fermentation using clump and pellet morphologies were performed in a 5 L fermentor at the optimal values obtained from flask culture. Finally, fed-batch culture was used to enhance the lactate concentration in broth. The final lactate concentration of fed-batch culture reached 92 g/L. The data presented in the article can provide useful information on optimizing lactic acid production using alternative source materials.     

Dependence on Oil Chain‐Length of the Curvature Elastic Properties of Nonionic Surfactant Films: Droplet Growth from Spheres to a Bicontinuous Network

Using NMR self‐diffusion and ²H‐NMR relaxation experiments, we have investigated growth of oil‐in‐water microemulsion droplets when spontaneous curvature is lowered, starting at emulsification failure boundary. We compare two ternary nonionic microemulsion systems, containing penta‐ethylene glycol dodecyl ether (C₁₂E₅), and decane or hexadecane, at same surfactant‐to‐oil ratio and approximately the same spontaneous curvature. Droplet growth in microemulsions appears in general to be only minor. Quantitative differences between the two systems indicate differences in the curvature elastic constants.     

Effect of Amino‐Acid‐Based Polar Oils on the Krafft Temperature and Solubilization in Ionic and Nonionic Surfactant Solutions

Abstract

The Krafft temperature and solubilization power of ionic and nonionic surfactants in aqueous solutions are strongly affected by added polar oils such as amino‐acid‐based oils (e.g., N‐acylamino acid esters, AAE), because they tend to be solubilized in the surfactant palisade layer. The Krafft temperatures of 5 wt.% sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS)‐water and octaoxyethylene octadecyl ether (C₁₈EO₈)‐water systems largely decreases upon addition of AAE and 1‐hexanol, whereas it decreases very slightly in isopropyl myristate (IPM) and n‐dodecane. The lowering of the Krafft temperature can be explained by the same mechanism as the melting‐temperature reduction of mixing two ordinary substances. Namely, the polar oils are solubilized in the surfactant palisade layer of micelles and reduce the melting temperature of hydrated solid‐surfactant (Krafft temperature). On the other hand, non‐polar oil such as dodecane is solubilized deep inside micelles and makes an oil pool. The solubilization of non‐polar oil is enhanced by mixing surfactant with AAE due to an increase in micellar size.     

3-Keto-l-gulonat-Decarboxylase ausSchwanniomyces occidentalis

Zusammenfassung In einer früheren Arbeit wurde gezeigt, daß in der HefeSchwanniomyces occidentalis, die auf einem Medium mitmyo-Inosit als einziger Kohlenstoffquelle wachsen kann, die Überführung vonl-Gulonsäure inl-Xylulose durch zwei nacheinander wirkende Enzyme katalysiert wird, von denen das erste — in völliger Analogie zu den Verhältnissen in tierischem Gewebe — die Dehydrogenierung vonl-Gulonsäure zu 3-Keto-l-gulonsäure bewirkt¹. Es konnte nunmehr auch das für den zweiten Schritt, die Decarboxylierung der 3-Keto-l-gulonsäure zurl-Xylulose, verantwortliche Enzym nachgewiesen werden, das ebenfalls dem analogen tierischen Enzym weitgehend gleicht.

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It has been shown previously that the transformation ofl-gulonic acid tol-xylulose in the yeastSchwanniomyces occidentalis, which is capable of growing onmyo-inositol as the only carbon source, is catalyzed by a sequence of two enzymic reactions. In complete analogy to the situation in animal tissue, the first enzyme dehydrogenatesl-gulonic acid to 3-keto-l-gulonic acid¹. It has now been possible to establish the existence of the second enzyme which is responsible for the decarboxylation of 3-keto-l-gulonic acid tol-xylulose. This enzyme also is very similar to the corresponding animal enzyme.

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Herrn Prof. Dr.F. Wessely zum 70. Geburtstag gewidmet.     

Thermodynamic parameters of the interaction of cryptand[222] with amino acids in water at 298.15 K

The interaction of cryptand[222] with amino acids in water, which is weak for most amino acids and controlled by the solvent effect in the case of non-polar amino acids, was studied at 298.15 K by the calorimetric method. Cryptand[222] undergoes selective complex formation with some polar and aromatic amino acids. The thermodynamic functions and equilibrium constants of complex formation of the macrocyclic ligand withl-histidine,l-threonine, andl-glutamine were calculated. Translated fromIzvestiya Akademii Nauk. Seriya Khimicheskaya, No. 12, pp. 2285–2288, December, 1999.     

Size-controlled synthesis of CuO–ZrO<Subscript>2</Subscript> nanoparticles prepared through reverse micelle method

In this research, CuO–ZrO₂ nanoparticles are synthesized using microreactors made of surfactant/water/cyclohexane microemulsions. The effect of different microemulsion variables on the particle size and its distribution, such as water-to-surfactant molar ratio (W ₀) and different surfactants are discussed. Three different surfactant types including cationic (CTAB), anionic (AOT), and nonionic (Brij56) are used. Also a different amount of water to surfactant in nano composite synthesis is used. The powders were characterized by DTA/TG, XRD, SEM, EDS, TEM and BET techniques and their physical properties are compared. The results show a decrease of particles size in presence of cationic surfactant. Narrow particles size distribution of the resultant CuO–ZrO₂ nanocomposite in presence of cationic surfactant, anionic and nonionic surfactant is compared. Also for AOT surfactant, by raising water to surfactant molar ratio the particles size is increased and the optimum ratio is H₂O: Surfactant = 0.32:0.055, respectively.