Competition in the bioreactor with general quadratic yields when one competitor produces a toxin

Microorganisms produce toxins against its competitors sometimes, and variable yields are useful to explain the observed oscillatory behavior in the reactor. In this paper, a model with general quadric yields of competition in the bioreactor of two competitors for a single nutrient where one of the competitors can produce toxin against its opponent, is proposed. We analyze the asymptotic behavior of the model in terms of the relevant parameters. The conditions of the three dimensional Hopf bifurcation, and the existence of limit cycles in the nutrient-organism phase plane are obtained.     

Simultaneous measurement of glucose and glutamine in aqueous solutions by near infrared spectroscopy

A method is described for measuring the concentrations of both glucose and glutamine in binary mixtures from near infrared (NIR) absorption spectra. Spectra are collected over the range from 5000–4000/cm (2.0–2.5μm) with a 1-mm optical path length. Glucose absorbance features at 4710, 4400, and 4300/cm and glutamine features at 4700, 4580, and 4390/cm provide the analytical information required for the measurement. Multivariate calibration models are generated by using partial least squares (PLS) regression alone and PLS regression combined with a preprocessing digital Fourier filtering step. The ideal number of PLS factors and spectral range are identified separately for each analyte. In addition, the optimum Fourier filter parameters are established for both compounds. The best overall analytical performance is obtained by combining Fourier filtering and PLS regression. Glucose measurements are established over the concentration range from 1.66–59.91 mM, with a standard error of prediction (SEP) of 0.32 mM and a mean percent error of 1.84%. Glutamine can be measured over the concentration range from 1.10–30.65 mM with a SEP of 0.75 mM and a mean percent error of 6.67%. These results demonstrate the analytical utility of NIR spectroscopy for monitoring glucose and glutamine levels in mammalian and insect cell cultures.     

Performance of an internal-loop airlift bioreactor for treatment of hexane-contaminated air

Hexane is a toxic volatile organic compound that is quite abundant in gas emissions from chemical industries and printing press and painting centers, and it is necessary to treat these airstreams before they discharge into the atmosphere. This article presents a treatment for hexane-contaminated air in steady-state conditions using an internal-loop airlift bioreactor inoculated with a Pseudomonas aeruginosa strain. Bioprocesses were conducted at 20-mL/min, a load of 1.26 g/m³ of C₆H₁₄, and a temperature of 28°C. The results of hexane removal efficiencies were presented as a function of the inoculum size (approx 0.07 and 0.2 g/L) and cell reuse. Bioprocess monitoring comprises quantification of the biomass, the surface tension of the medium, and the hexane concentration in the fermentation medium as well as in the inlet and outlet airstreams. The steady-state results suggest that the variation in inoculum size from 0.07 to 0.2 g/L promotes hexane abatement from the influent from 65 to 85%, respectively. Total hydrocarbon removal from the waste gas was achieved during experiments conducted using reused cells at an initial microbial concentration of 0.2 g/L.     

Two-temperature dilute-acid prehydrolysis of hardwood xylan using a percolation process

This article outlines some of the factors influencing the choice of a suitable reactor for using immobilized biocatalysts. We have concentrated on biochemical engineering parameters of immobilized biocatalysts, which are important with respect to their application in industrial processes.     

Particle circulation and oxygen mass transfer in an immobilized cell bioreactor

Two important considerations in the design of an aerobic particulate immobilized cell bioreactor are the provision of sufficient oxygen to maintain the desired metabolism of the immobilized organism, and the biomass holdup (which is proportional to the number of immobilized cell particles in the reactor). The Circulating Bed Reactor, a reactor developed for use with those forms of immobilization that result in particles of essentially neutral buoyancy, operates with an expanded bed of circulating particles. The particle number density attainable in such a reactor has been found to be dependent upon the circulation cell aspect ratio, the individual particle properties, the static bed voidage of the particles, and the superficial gas velocity. The oxygen mass transfer characteristics have been found to be dependent upon the circulatory nature of the system, the particle (solids) holdup, the particle porosity, and the superficial gas velocity.     

Production of citric acid using immobilized conidia of Aspergillus niger

Conidia of Aspergillus niger were immobilized in calcium alginate gel for the production of citric acid. First, the type of the preactivation medium, together with the preactivation period, was investigated. It was found that A. niger requires a 2-d preactivation period at a 0.05 g/L NH₄NO₃ concentration. Second, preactivated cells were used to determine the effects of nitrogen concentration and the flow rate of oxygen and air on the production of citric acid. Maximum citric acid production was attained with medium containing 0.01 g/L of NH₄NO₃. The rate of citric acid production in the nitrogenous medium was 33% higher when oxygen was used instead of air during the production phase. This corresponds to an increase of 85% when compared to production when neither oxygen nor air was fed into the system. In the nonnitrogenous medium citric acid concentration remained similar regardless of the use of air or oxygen. However, in the nonnitrogenous production medium, citric acid production was not influenced considerably when oxygen was used instead of air. The advantage of using immobilized cells is that production is achieved easily in the continuous system. Therefore, citric acid production was also tested using a packed-bed bioreactor, and an increase in productivity by a factor of 22 was achieved compared to the batch system.     

Kinetics of Growth and Nutrient Consumption in the Culture of Trichosanthes kirilowii Hairy Root

IntroductionThe hairy roots produced by Agrobacteriumrhizogenes infection are characterized by highgrowth rate and genetic stability. Thesegenetically transformed roots can produce similarhigher levels of secondary metabolites than intactplants[1] ,so hairy root cultures are a promisingmethod for producing valuable secondarymetabolites of many plants.Recently,two kindsof ribosome- inactivating proteins ( RIPs) [2 ] ,trichosanthin ( TCN ) [3 ] ,and TAP 2 9[4] wereidentified in Trichosanthes…     

内置蜂窝陶瓷的气升式内循环生物反应器I.水力学特征及其影响因素

在鼓泡塔式(BC)和气升式内循环(IAL)生物反应器的基础上，于内循环导流管中间安装了蜂窝陶瓷载体，构成了带有蜂窝陶瓷载体的气升式内循环(IAL—CHS)生物反应器。用示踪技术测定了流体在BC、IAL和IAL—CHS反应器内的停留时间分布，并用组合模型建立了描述反应器中流体停留时间分布的数学模型。比较研究了这3种形式的生物反应器的水力学特性，探讨了曝气量对停留时间分布的影响。结果表明，相同条件下，相比BC和IAL，IAL—CHS生物反应器提高了反应器内完全混合区的比例，减少了流体走旁路的比例。曝气量越大，完全混合区越大，而流体走旁路的比例越小。     

马铃薯PGBSS—GUS融合基因在块茎中专一性表达的初步研究

从ＧＢＳＳ基因克隆上，酶切得到５上游区１．２ｋｂ的序列，与ＧＵＳ报告基基因融合，构建了ＰＧＢＳＳ１．２表达载体，通过农杆菌介导的方式，将ＰＧＢＳＳ１．２转和马铃薯品种Ｄｅｓｉｒｅｅ，卡那霉素筛选获得抗性再生植和微薯，利用ＰＣＲ特异性扩增和Ｓｏｕｔｈｅｒｎ Ｂｌｏｔｔｉｎｇ的方法证明了融合基因在马铃薯基因组中的整合，Ｘ－Ｇｌｕｅ活体染色表明，微薯切片具有高ＧＵＳ酶活性，而茎段中ＧＵＳ活性相对较低，初     

固定化酵母流化床生物反应器发酵玉米淀粉的研究

对固定化酵母流化床生物反应器发酵玉米淀粉进行了研究.结果表明,在南阳混合酵母、拉斯12号酵母以及古巴Ⅱ号酵母3种酵母中,南阳混合酵母最适合作为固定化的菌种.发酵醪初糖为9 86～15 88°Bx,发酵时间为6～11h,成熟发酵醪中酒精的体积百分比含量达4 8%～9 2%,反应器的乙醇生产能力为3 8～4 5g/(L·h),凝胶的乙醇生产能力为11 3～13 6g/(L·h),残糖均低于1 0°Bx.