Production of biological nanoparticles from bovine serum albumin for drug delivery

Bovine serum albumin (BSA) was used for generation of nanoparticles in a drug delivery system. The size of the fabricated nano-particles was measure by laser light scanning. Several process parameterswere examined to achieve a suitable size of nanoparticle such as pH, temperature, BSA concentration, agitation speed, glutaraldehyde concentration, organic solvent adding rate and the ratio of BSA/organic solvent. The smallest size of nanoparticles achieved, was 101 nm and the largest size was 503 nm. The most effective parameters for the fabrication of the nanoparticles were the agitation speed and the media temperature. The minimum size of nanoparticles at the desired incubator of 4°C and constant agitation rate of 300 - 400 rpm was obtained. The impact of protein concentration and additional rate of organic solvent (i.e. ethanol) upon the particle size was investigated. The protein concentration of 5-40 mg.ml-1 was resulted; the main effect on the particle size and minimum mean size diameter gained was 30 mg.ml-1 protein concentration. The nanoparticle sample was purified with 50,000 g centrifuge then followed by dialysis, micro and ultrafiltration and then analyzed by SEM, PCS as well as SDS gel electrophoresis

Kinetic model for polyhydroxybutyrate (PHB) production by Hydrogenophaga pseudoflava and verification of growth conditions

A kinetic model that describes microbial growth, biopolymer production and substrate consumption is used to predict the performance of batch fermentation of Hydrogenophaga pseudoflava. H. pseudoflava DSMZ 1034 is useful in synthesizing polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs).The experimental data was also fitted with the logistic equation that can provide adequate description for PHA synthesized by H. pseudoflava. The Lineweaver-Burk plot defined biokinetic coefficients which were described by a simplified Monod’s rate model. The specific growth rates, max and the Monod constants, Ks, for various substrates such as glucose, fructose were 0.36, 0.24, h-1 and 106, 80 g/l, respectively. A good agreement was found between the experimental and the predicted values, which indicated that the model with differential equations would describe fermentation process for the PHA formation

Investigation on batch biosorption of lead using Lactobacillius bulgaricus in an aqueous phase system

In this research, the biosorption of lead by Lactobacillus bulgaricus was investigated. The mechanism for the biosorption was similar to ionic exchanger. The media pH, weight of dried biomass and initial lead concentration were investigated at ambient temperature. At highacidic solution (p

Rotating biological contactors : a review on main factors affecting performance

Rotating biological contactors (RBCs) constitute a very unique and superior alternative for biodegradable matter and nitrogen removal on account of their feasibility, simplicity of design and operation, short start-up, low land area requirement, low energy consumption, low operating and maintenance cost and treatment efficiency. The present review of RBCs focus on parameters that affect performance like rotational speed, organic and hydraulic loading rates, retention time, biofilm support media, staging, temperature, influent wastewater characteristics, biofilm characteristics, dissolved oxygen levels, effluent and solids recirculation, stepfeeding and medium submergence. Some RBCs scale-up and design considerations, operational problems and comparison with other wastewater treatment systems are also reported.Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT

Hydrodynamic behaviour and biochemical characterization of a simple custom expanded bed column for protein purification

Hydrodynamic behaviour and biochemical characterization of a simple custom expanded bed column made by Nanobiotechnology Group (NBG) was compared with a commercial expanded bed contactor.Hydrodynamic characteristics of the columns (Daxl and Bo) with various settled bed height (SBH = 5 - 10cm, increment of 1 cm) along with variety of column diameters (1.0, 1.6, 2.0 and 2.5 cm) wereinvestigated. All parameters were found to be comparable or superior to those reported for conventional, expanded bed contactors. However, the experimental values of Richardson-Zaki coefficient determined here were close to the value of 4.8, commonly used in the laminar flow regime. The expansion coefficient and terminal velocity of the adsorbent (Streamline™ DEAE) were theoretically calculated based on correlation stated in the literature and also experimentally determined. Theadsorbent was also used in batch binding experiments, as well as in commercial and custom assembled expanded bed contactors with various feedstocks comprising bovine serum albumin and egg albumin. This evaluation exhibited good capacities and adsorption/desorption performance of NBG column in compare with commercial expanded bed column. The hydrodynamic behaviour of expanded bed adsorption and the generic application of simple NBG column and its potential for the purification and recovery of protein products are thoroughly discussed

Production of organic acids in an immobilized cell reactor using Propionibacterium acidi-propionici

Immobilized cell reactor (ICR) was developed as a novel bioreactor to convert hydrolyzed sugars to organic acids. Sugar fermentation by Propionibacterium acid-propionici entraped by calcium alginatewas carried out in continuous mode to produce propionic and acetic acids. In continuous fermentation, more than 90 percent of glucose conversion and 60 percent conversion of xylose were obtained at a retention time of 28 h. The present research has demonstrated that the microorganism preferred glucose as carbon source over other carbon sources. The highest sugar concentration (120 g/L) in the ICR column was successfully converted to propionic acid. The achieved results in ICR with high substrate concentration are promising for scale up operation

Production of organic acids in an immobilized cell reactor using Propionibacterium acidi-propionici

Immobilized cell reactor (ICR) was developed as a novel bioreactor to convert hydrolyzed sugars to organic acids. Sugar fermentation by Propionibacterium acid-propionici entraped by calcium alginatewas carried out in continuous mode to produce propionic and acetic acids. In continuous fermentation, more than 90 percent of glucose conversion and 60 percent conversion of xylose were obtained at a retention time of 28 h. The present research has demonstrated that the microorganism preferred glucose as carbon source over other carbon sources. The highest sugar concentration (120 g/L) in the ICR column was successfully converted to propionic acid. The achieved results in ICR with high substrate concentration are promising for scale up operation

Enhanced Fe2+ oxidation by mixed culture originated from hot spring: Application of response surface method

For maximum oxidation efficiency and minimum amount of jarosite, a total of 30 experimental runs were conducted and the experimental data fitted to the experimental quadratic model. The analysis of variance (ANOVA) demonstrated that the model was highly significant. Three dimensional plots were illustrated to depict the interaction between all the factors. The experimental results indicated that, the optimal conditions for the desired objects were 1.3, 7 g/l, 141 rpm and 35°C for the media initial pH, Fe2+ ion concentration, agitation rate and temperature, respectively. Using the regression model, a maximal oxidation efficiency of 55% and minimum jarosite precipitation of 0.34 g/l were achieved with the consideration of the optimal condition for the parameters at the end of 26 days of operation. The experiment was carried out under optimal condition and resulted in efficient oxidation and jarosite amount of 52% and 0.32 g/l, respectively. Similar values were predicted by the model. According to these results, the response surface methodology was not only applied to determine the significance information on the interaction between the factors, but also was conducted at optimal conditions for the desired objectives. It was also concluded that, the mixed culture isolated from the hot spring had the potential to oxidize ferrous to ferric irons.Key words: Biooxidation, response surface method, jarosite,  biodesulfurization, process optimization