Development of xylose-fermenting yeasts for ethanol production at high acetic acid concentrations

Mutants resistant to comparatively high levels of acetic acid were isolated from the xylose-fermenting yeastsCandida shehatae andPichia stipitis by adapting these cultures to increasing concentrations of acetic acid grown in shake-flask cultures. These mutants were tested for their ability to ferment xylose in presence of high acetic acid concentrations, in acid hydrolysates of wood, and in hardwood spent sulfite liquor, and compared with their wild-type counterparts and between themselves. TheP. stipitis mutant exhibited faster fermentation times, better tolerance to acid hydrolysates, and tolerance to lower pH.     

Application of multiparameter equations to calculation of the mutual solubility in water-organic solvent binary systems

The solubility of organic liquids in water and of water in organic liquids is primarily determined by the capability of organic liquids for hydrogen bonding. Adequate generalization of the solubility data is possible only with multiparameter equations taking also into account other properties of organic components, including the cohesion and molar volume.     

Tryptophan–water interaction in Monellin: Hydration patterns from molecular dynamics simulation

Femtosecond spectroscopy carried out earlier on Monellin and some other systems has given insights into the hydration dynamics of the proteins. In the present work, molecular dynamics simulations have been performed on Monellin to study the hydration dynamics. A method has been described to follow up the molecular events of the protein–water interactions in detail. The time constants of the survival correlation function match well with the reported experimental values. This validates the procedure, adapted here for Monellin, to investigate the hydration dynamics in general.