Production of antitumoral retamycin during fed-batch fermentations of Streptomyces olindensis

Fed-batch runs were performed in order to correlate the production of retamycin, an anthracycline antibiotic produced by Streptomyces olindensis in submerged cultures, with the specific growth rate. Maximum retamycin production was achieved with an exponential feed rate, controlling the specific growth rate at a low value (0.03h⁻¹, about 10% of the maximum specific growth rate). Control of the specific growth rate at higher values (0.10 and 0.17 h⁻¹) caused a decrease in antibiotic production. Morphology, assessed by image analysis, was shown to be highly relevant in this process. Cell growth mainly in the form of clumps (90% clumps and 10% free filaments) led to better results than growth as clumps (75%) and free filaments (25%).     

ZnIn2S4@CNO多级纳米片用于光催化分解水制氢和还原CO2（英文）

光催化分解水制氢和还原CO2是太阳能利用领域的研究热点,对清洁能源的转化具有重要意义.石墨相氮化碳(CN)作为一种非金属半导体,是一种非常有开发潜力的光催化材料.然而限于其聚合物本质,光催化效率仍有待进一步提高.原位非金属掺杂可以利用元素电子结构调控电荷分布,优化光生电荷传输性能.同时,半导体复合,尤其是2D层状复合结构的构筑,可充分发挥2D半导体的优势,合适的能带交错有利于光生电荷的传输,可在一定程度上加速催化反应的进行.本文首先以草酸为氧掺杂源,采用二步煅烧法合成氧掺杂氮化碳纳米片催化剂(CNO).在二次煅烧和氧掺杂共同作用下,增大了CN层间距和多孔性,颗粒尺寸减小,同时增强了对光的吸光性,拓展了可见光吸收范围.接下来采用一步水热合成法得到ZnIn2S4@CNO(ZC)复合材料,在可见光照射下通过分解水制氢和CO2还原反应对复合材料进行光催化还原性能评价.采用X射线衍射(XRD)、透射电镜(TEM)、X射线光电子能谱(XPS)、荧光光谱(PL)、光电化学测试等方法对ZC进行详细的结构表征和分析.XRD和XPS结果表明,经过一步直接水热可得到层状ZC复合材料,高倍TEM进一步证实二者形成均一的2D异质复合材料.N2-吸附-脱附曲线表明,复合材料具有较大的比表面积和均一的孔结构分布,主要得益于O掺杂CNO纳米片的多孔性结构.光电性质测试结果表明,相比于CNO,复合材料具有降低的荧光发射强度和延长的荧光寿命,表明复合产物显著抑制了光生电荷的复合.电化学测试进一步表明,复合异质结的构筑有利于光生载流子的产生,同时降低了界面电荷转移电阻,提高了电荷迁移速率.因此,多孔2D异质结构的构筑对促进CN基半导体光催化还原具有重要作用.在可见光照射下(λ>400 nm),复合材料表现出优异的光催化还原性能,且随着CNO含量的增加催化活性不断提高,其中ZC 40%(CNO质量比40%)具有最佳的催化活性,其产氢速率达188.4μmol/h,约是ZnIn2S4和CNO的2.1倍.同时,光催化还原CO2测试表明,复合材料具有显著提高的CO和CH4产率,其中CO为主要反应产物.ZC40%的CO产生速率为12.69μmol/h,分别是ZnIn2S4和CNO的2.2倍和14.0倍.对催化剂进行连续光反应,结果表明,复合催化剂具有优异的结构稳定性和活性稳定性,能够持续发生光还原反应制取H2和CO.     

Independent exponential feeding of glycerol and methanol for fed-batch culture of recombinant Hansenula polymorpha DL-1

As a novel feeding strategy for optimizing human epidermal growth factor (hEGF) production with a recombinant Hansenula polymorpha DL-1 using the methanol oxidase (MOX) promoter in H. polymorpha DL-1, independent exponential feeding of two substrates was used. A simple kinetic model considering the cell growth on two substrates was established and used to calculate the respective feeding rates of glycerol and methanol. In the fedbatch culture with methanol-only feeding, the optimal set point of specific growth rate on methanol was found to be 0.10 h-1. When the fed-batch cultures were conducted by the independent feeding of glycerol and methanol, the actual specific growth rate on glycerol and methanol was slightly lower than the set point of specific growth rate. By the uncoupled feeding of glycerol and methanol the volumetric productivity of hEGF increased from 6.4 to 8.0 mg/(L.h), compared with methanol-only feeding.     

Effects of Different Carbon and Nitrogen Sources on Naphthoquinone Production of Cordyceps unilateralis BCC 1869

The production of six naphthoquinone derivatives, erythrostominone, deoxyerythrostominone, 4-O-methyl erythrostominone, epierythrostominol, deoxyerythrostominol, and 3,5,8-trihydroxy-6-methoxy-2-(5-oxohexa- 1,3-dienyl)-1,4-naphthoquinone, was examined during the growth of Cordyceps unilateralis BCC 1869 on different carbon and nitrogen sources. Erythrostominone production by the fungus accounted for more than 50% of total naphthoquinones, but production of each of the other five derivatives accounted for less than 20% of total naphthoquinones. The highest volumetric production rate of erythrostominone and overall naphthoquinone production rate were obtained on mannose as a sole carbon source and ammonium sulfate as a sole nitrogen source (4922.4 +/- 118.8 mg/[L.d] and 5.03 g/[L.d], respectively). The highest growth rate was obtained on arabinose (0.043 h-1), whereas the maximum overall naphthoquinone concentration was obtained on lactose (2 g/L) at 237 h. These naphthoquinones were produced with no pH control and were first detected at a pH of about 3.0 to 4.0. These results suggest that carbon and nitrogen influenced directly the production of naphthoquinones.     

Growth of unusual carbon nanofilaments in methane pyrolysis

Two types of carbon nanofilaments (nanotubes) differing markedly in morphology and growth rate grow on substrate plates containing a supported catalyst in a methane atmosphere at ～1050°C. According to provisional estimates, nanofilaments of one of these types grow at a rate of 5–10 μm/s, which is 50–100 times as high as the growth rate observed for ordinary catalytic filaments (tubes). These filaments are as long as several millimeters, being 50 to 100 nm in diameter. A preliminary examination of their structure has demonstrated that there is no catalyst particle at the filament end and that the filament is likely a carbon-rich polymer. A possible mechanism of the growth of these carbon filaments is discussed.     

Lipase production byPenicillium restrictum in a bench-scale fermenter

A preliminary screening work selectedPenicillium restrictum as a promising micro-organism for lipase production. The physiological response of the fungus towards cell growth and enzyme production upon variable carbon and nitrogen nutrition, specific air flow rate (Qa) and agitation (N) was evaluated in a 5-L bench-scale fermenter. In optimized conditions for lipase production meat peptone at 2% (w/v) and olive oil at 1% (w/v) were used in a growth medium with a C/N ratio of 9.9. Higher C/N ratios favored cell growth in detriment of enzyme production. Low extracellular lipase activities were observed using glucose as carbon source suggesting glucose regulation. Final lipase accumulation of 13,000 U/L was obtained, using optimized specific air flow rate (Qa) of 0.5 wm and an impeller speed (N) of 200 rpm. Agitation showed to be an important parameter to ensure nutrient availability in a growth medium having olive oil as carbon source.     

Production of acetic acid by immobilized whole cells ofClostridium thermoaceticum

Immobilized cells ofClostridium thermoaceticum for acetic acid production has been investigated. Using κ-carrageenan gel as the immobilization-matrix, high cell concentration within the gel could be achieved and thus lead to high volumetric acetic acid productivity. Batch experiments using 3% gel showed that cell concentration up to 65 g (dry cell weight)/L gel could be achieved. These dry weight cell concentrations in the gel through immobilization are typically 10–15 times greater than what can be obtained in free-cell fermentations. The specific growth rate and acetic acid formation rate were similar to those observed for the free cells. Continuous culture experiments using a feed medium containing 20 g/L of glucose were performed where the reactor contained 50% by volume of the carrageenan gel and the pH was controlled at 6.9. Different steady states were acheived at dilution rates ranging from 0.061 to 0.399 h^?1. Cells grew mainly near the surface of the gel and reached maximum concentration within the matrix of approximately 35 g/L. Dilution rates much greater than the maximum specific growth rate were obtained, which resulted in volumetric productivity up to 4.9 g/L-h. This value was significantly greater than that for the conventional continuous culture with free cells. Using a 40 g/L feed glucose concentration, steady states could be achieved between dilution rates of 0.12–0.4 h^?1. The maximum productivity further increased to 6.9 g/L-h at a dilution rate of 0.37 h^?1 and at an acetic acid concentration of 19 g/L. The cell concentration was 60 g (dry weight)/L gel at steady state.     

C-N共掺杂纳米TiO2的制备及其光催化制氢活性

采用TiCN粉末在空气气氛中不同温度下焙烧制得C-N共掺杂的纳米TiO2光催化剂. 利用X射线衍射(XRD)、透射电镜(TEM)、紫外-可见漫反射光谱(UV-Vis DRS)以及X射线光电子能谱(XPS)等手段对其进行了表征. XRD和XPS结果表明, TiCN中的C和N元素可以被O取代得到C-N共掺杂的TiO2. DRS结果表明, 所制得的C-N共掺杂的TiO2在可见光区域比P25表现出更强的光吸收性能. 以Na2S-Na2SO3体系为牺牲剂, 分别考察了不同温度下焙烧得到的C-N共掺杂的TiO2光催化分解水产氢的活性. 结果表明, 550 ℃焙烧得到的C-N共掺杂的TiO2在紫外光照射下具有最高的光解水产氢活性,产氢速率为41.1 μmol·h-1, 大于P25的光解水产氢活性(26.2 μmol·h-1). 在紫外-可见光照射下, 光解水产氢速率仅为0.2 μmol·h-1, 这可能是由于C-N掺杂引起的可见光范围的吸收对光催化分解水产氢活性的贡献较小.     

1H NMR analysis of the tolylene-2,4-diisocyanate – methanol reaction

<正>Tolylene-2,4-diisocyanate(2,4-TDI) 1 reacts with methanol through two simultaneous paths in the polyurethane reaction,which involve two different intermediates-tolylene-4-carbamatic-2-isocyanate 2 and tolylene-2-carbamatic-4-isocyanate 3,and the final product is tolylene-2,4-dicarbamate 4.The-CH_3 chemical shifts in benzene ring in compounds 1,2,3 and 4 can be easily tested and well distinguished,through which those four compounds are quantified and their kinetics are investigated.It shows that four rate constants for the tolylene-2,4-diisocyanate-methanol reaction in CCl_4 at 50℃are k_1=9.6×10~(-2)h~(-2)mol~(-2)min~(-1), k_2=1.4×10~(-2)h~(-2)mol~(-2)min~(-1),k_3=4.0×10~(-3)h~(-2)mol~(-2)min~(-1),k_4=1.4×10~(-3)h~(-2)mol~(-2)min~(-1).(k_1 is the reaction rate constant from compounds 1 to 2;k_2 is the reaction rate constant from compounds 1 to 3;k_3 is the reaction rate constant from compounds 3 to 4;k_4 is the reaction rate constant from compounds 2 to 4).     

A general bifunctional catalyst for the anti-Markovnikov hydration of terminal alkynes to aldehydes gives enzyme-like rate and selectivity enhancements

A new, bifunctional catalyst for anti-Markovnikov hydration of terminal alkynes to aldehydes (6) allows practical room-temperature hydration of alkyl-substituted alkynes. Other outstanding features include near-quantitative aldehyde yields from both alkyl- and aryl-substituted alkynes and wide functional group tolerance. The uncatalyzed rate of alkyne hydration is measured for the first time, showing the enzyme-like rate and selectivity enhancements of aldehyde formation by 6. For aldehyde formation, an uncatalyzed rate <1 x 10-10 mol h-1 means a half-life >600 000 years. The catalyzed rate is up to 23.8 mol (mol 6)-1 h-1 and 10 000:1 ratio in favor of aldehyde. Changes in rate and selectivity induced by 6 are thus >2.4 x 1011 and 300 000, respectively.     

The Use of a Coulter Counter to Quantitatively Determine Mold in Carbonated Soft Drinks

Abstract

A method for the rapid, quantitative screening of carbonated soft drinks for mold at levels well below what is normally detected by candling and which is quantitatively more reliable than counting mold clumps is proposed. It involves the use of a Coulter Counter and can detect as few as 10 mold filaments per milliliter of the original soft drink. Soft drinks containing pulp pose a problem that is only partially solved. Dead mold getting into the soft drink is almost completely separated by a density gradient salt solution but live mold uses the pulp as a growth base and is not separated.     

Generation of Hydrogen from Photolysis of Organic Acids by Photosynthetic Bacteria

Photodccomposition of ten kinds of organic acids by Rhodopseudomonas palustris for producing hydrogen has been investigated,By using acctate as hydrogen donor,dynamics of hydrogen production and cell growth has been determined;the influences of acetate concentration,temperature,light intensity and the effects of the ineraction among metal ions (Fe^3 ,Ni^ ),acctate and glutamatc in aqueous solution on hydrogen production have been examined for optimizing the conditions of H2 generation .The results show that H2 production is partially correlated with cell growth ;Ni^2 inhibits hydrogen production,but enhances cell growth; Fe^3 promotes hydrogen production evidcntly,The highest rate of H2 production is 22.1 mL L^-1h^-1 under the conditions of 35-37℃,6000-8000lx,30 mmolL^-1 of acetate, 9mmolL^-1 of glutamate, and 50μmolL^-1 of Fe^3 .     

Response of an Algal Consortium to Diesel under Varying Culture Conditions

A diesel-tolerant sessile freshwater algal consortium obtained from the vicinity of Powai Lake (Mumbai, India) was cultured in the laboratory. The presence of diesel in batch cultures enhanced the maximum specific growth rate of the algal consortium. With decrease in light–dark (L:D) cycle from 20:4 to 4:20 h, the chlorophyll-a levels decreased; however, the removal of diesel was found to be maximum at L:D of 18:6 h with 37.6% degradation over and above controls. In addition to growth in the form of green clumps, white floating biomass was found surrounding the diesel droplets on the surface. This culture predominated at the least L:D ratio of 4:20 h. Studies confirmed the ability of the floating organisms to grow heterotrophically in the dark utilizing diesel as carbon source and also in the presence of light in a medium devoid of organic carbon sources.     

Simultaneous syngas production with different H_2/CO ratio in a multi-tubular methane steam and dry reformer by utilizing of CLC

For syngas production, the combustion of fossil fuels produces large amounts of CO2 as a greenhouse gas annually which intensifies global warming. In this study, chemical looping combustion(CLC) has been utilized for the elimination of CO2 emission to atmosphere during simultaneous syngas production with different H2/CO ratio in steam reforming of methane(SR) and dry reforming of methane(DR) in a CLC-SR-DR configuration. In CLC-SR-DR with 184 reformer tubes(similar to an industrial scale steam reformer in Zagros Petrochemical Company, Assaluyeh, Iran), DR reaction occurs over Rh-based catalysts in 31 tubes. Also, SR reaction is happened over Ni-based catalysts in 153 tubes. CLC via employment of Mn-based oxygen carriers supplies heat for DR and SR reactions and produces CO2 and H2O as raw materials simultaneously. A steady state heterogeneous catalytic reaction model is applied to analyze the performance and applicability of the proposed CLC-SR-DR configuration. Simulation results show that combustion efficiency reached 1 at the outlet of fuel reactor(FR). Therefore,pure CO2 and H2O can be recycled to DR and SR sides, respectively. Also, CH4 conversion reached 0.2803 and 0.7275 at the outlet of SR and DR sides, respectively. Simulation results indicate that, 3223 kmol h-1syngas with a H2/CO ratio equal to 9.826 was produced in SR side of CLC-SR-DR. After that, 1844 kmol h-1syngas with a H2/CO ratio equal to 0.986 was achieved in DR side of CLC-SR-DR. Results illustrate that by increasing the number of DR tubes to 50 tubes and considering 184 fixed total tubes in CLC-SR-DR, CH4 conversions in SR and DR sides decreased 2.69% and 3.31%, respectively. However, this subject caused total syngas production in SR and DR sides(in all of 184 tubes)enhance to 5427 kmol h-1. Finally, thermal and molar behaviors of the proposed configuration demonstrate that CLC-SR-DR is applicable for simultaneous syngas production with high and low H2/CO ratios in an environmental friendly process.     

双金属氮化物Co3W3N/CNTs纳米复合材料的制备及其室温常压氮还原性能

采用水热法并经氨气保护热处理制备了双过渡金属氮化物Co3W3N/CNTs复合材料,得到了价格低廉且拥有良好氮电化学还原性能(NRR)的催化剂。通过调节已经预氧化的CNTs与过渡金属氮化物前驱体CoWO4的比例以及氨气热处理温度,实现了Co3W3N在CNTs表面的均匀负载。扫描电子显微镜(SEM)及透射电子显微镜(TEM)测试结果显示该电化学活性纳米微粒均匀地分散于CNTs表面,表明经预氧化的CNTs由于表面富集了较多的活性基团,有利于双过渡金属氮化物的分散生长。热处理后CNTs表面的Co3W3N微粒尺寸约为20 nm,相较于无载体的Co3W3N尺寸(100 nm)有明显减小。室温条件下,在N2饱和的0.01 mol·L^-1 H2SO4溶液中测试了该纳米复合材料在不同过电位下的NRR,该材料在-0.3 V(vs RHE)时的产氨率及法拉第效率分别可达12.73μg·h^-1·cm-2和13.59%,对比同样条件下,纯相Co3W3N的产氨率及法拉第效率仅为1.08μg·h^-1·cm^-2和1.76%。结果表明,通过水热反应和氨气保护热处理的Co3W3N/CNTs纳米复合材料具有良好的NRR性能。     

Biohydrogen Production from Cheese Whey Wastewater in a Two-Step Anaerobic Process

Cheese whey-based biohydrogen production was seen in batch experiments via dark fermentation by free and immobilized Enterobacter aerogenes MTCC 2822 followed by photofermentation of VFAs (mainly acetic and butyric acid) in the spent medium by Rhodopseudomonas BHU 01 strain. E. aerogenes free cells grown on cheese whey diluted to 10 g lactose/L, had maximum lactose consumption (～79%), high production of acetic acid (1,900 mg/L), butyric acid (537.2 mg/L) and H(2) yield (2.04 mol/mol lactose; rate,1.09 mmol/L/h). The immobilized cells improved lactose consumption (84%), production of acetic acid (2,100 mg/L), butyric acid (718 mg/L) and also H(2) yield (3.50 mol/mol lactose; rate, 1.91 mmol/L/h). E. aerogenes spent medium (10 g lactose/L) when subjected to photofermentation by free Rhodopseudomonas BHU 01 cells, the H(2) yield reached 1.63 mol/mol acetic acid (rate, 0.49 mmol/L/h). By contrast, immobilized Rhodopseudomonas cells improved H(2) yield to 2.69 mol/mol acetic acid (rate, 1.87 mmol/L/h). The cumulative H(2) yield for free and immobilized bacterial cells was 3.40 and 5.88 mol/mol lactose, respectively. Bacterial cells entrapped in alginate, had a sluggish start of H(2) production but outperformed the free cells subsequently. Also, the concomitant COD reduction for free cells (29.5%) could be raised to 36.08% by immobilized cells. The data suggest that two-step fermentative H(2) production from cheese whey involving immobilized bacterial cells, offers greater substrate to- hydrogen conversion efficiency, and the effective removal of organic load from the wastewater in the long-term.     

Physiological and Biochemical Parameters of Common Duckweed Lemna minor after the Exposure to Tetracycline and the Recovery from This Stress

In this study, the ability of Lemna minor L. to recover to normal growth, after being degraded in a tetracycline-containing medium, was extensively investigated. The plants were exposed to tetracycline (TC) at concentrations of 1, 2.5, and 10 mM. Subsequently, their physiological status was analysed against the following criteria: rate of plant growth; free radical accumulation; antioxidant enzyme activity; chlorophyll content; HSP70 protein content; cell membrane permeability, and mitochondrial activity. The study showed that duckweed can considerably recover from the damage caused by antibiotics, within a week of cessation of stress. Of the plant properties analysed, mitochondrial activity was the most sensitive to antibiotic-induced disturbances. After transferring the plants to a tetracycline-free medium, all plant parameters improved significantly, except for the mitochondrial activity in the plants grown on the medium containing the highest dose of tetracycline. In the plants treated with this antibiotic at the concentration of 10 mM, the proportion of dead mitochondria increased and was as high as 93% after one week from the beginning of the recovery phase, even after the transfer to the tetracycline-free medium.     

Ethanol production by Saccharomyces cerevisiae grown in sugarcane blackstrap molasses through a fed-batch process

We studied the effect of reactor filling time (T) (3-5 h), initial mass of inoculum (M) (1000-2100 g), and exponential time decay constant for the substrate feed rate (K) (0.6-1.6 h-1) on ethanol production by Saccharomyces cerevisiae grown in sugarcane blackstrap molasses through a fed-batch culture. The highest ethanol productivity (16.9 g/[L x h]) occurred at T = 3 h, K = 1.6 h-1, and M = 1300 g. In addition, productivity was affected by both M (for T = 3 and 4 h) and K (for T = 3 h) and varied inversely with T under any value fixed for M and K. By the quadratic regression multivariable analysis method, equations were determined to estimate ethanol yield and productivity as function of the variables studied (T, K, and M).     

Studies on the overproduction of indole-containing metabolites by a methanol-utilizing yeast

Production of indole-containing metabolites (“indoles”) from methanol has been studied using a mutant ofHansenula polymorpha resistant to 5-fluorotryptophan. Whereas the wild-type culture produces only a small amount of indoles, the mutant is partially deregulated and overproduces indoles. Indoles production was studied in batch and continuous culture and in a washed-cell system. When the pH was above 4.0, indoles production was growth-associated, in both minimal and complex media, and batch or continuous culture. When the pH was below or equal to 4.0, a low phosphate concentration was found to improve production. In a phosphate-deficient washed-cell suspension system, the addition of an amino acid such as methionine at 5 mM increased specific productivity by more than 60%. Addition of cycloheximide at 50 mg/L decreased residual growth and increased maximum productivity of indoles by more than 60%. When the antibiotic was added at 1000 mg/L, growth was completely inhibited and indoles production continued for about 35 h.