I. Chloramphenicol (CAP) is a potent and selective mechanism-based inactivator of the major phenobarbital (PB)-inducible form of dog liver cytochrome P-450 (PBD-2) in vitro. In a reconstituted system, CAP inactivates PBD-2 in a time- and NADPH-dependent manner and binds covalently to the protein moiety of PBD-2 with a stoichiometry of 1 nmol CAP bound/nmol P-450 inactivated. In intact liver microsomes from PB-treated male Beagle dogs, CAP irreversibly inhibits androstenedione 16α- and 16β-hydroxylation and 2,4,5, 2',4',5'-hexachlorobiphenyl hydroxylation but not androstenedione 6 β -hydroxylation or NADPH-dependent triacetyloleandomycin (TAO) complex formation. Covalent binding of CAP to dog liver microsomes in vitro is increased 5.5-fold by PB induction. This increase correlates well with the increased levels of immunochemically determined PBD-2 (5.8-fold) and 16α - and 16β -hydroxylation of androstenedione (5.7- and 5.8-fold) in microsomes from PB-treated dogs. Anti-PBD-2 IgG significantly inhibits the covalent binding of CAP to microsomes from untreated and PB-treated dogs. Finally, CAP appears to bind covalently with a single protein with the same molecular weight as PBD-2, as evidenced by SDS-PAGE. II. A cytochrome P-450 called PBD-1 isolated from liver microsomes of an adult male Beagle dog treated with PB is structurally and functionally similar to members of the P450IIIA gene subfamily in rat and human liver microsomes. The sequence of the first 28 amino terminal residues of PBD-1 is identical in 15 and 20 positions, respectively, to the P450IIIA forms P450p from rat and P450(NF) from human. Upon immunoblot analysis, anti-PBD-1 IgG recognizes PCNa (P450p) and PCNb (PB\PCN-E) from rat, P450(NF) from human, and two proteins in liver microsomes from untreated and PB-treated dogs. Anti-PBD-1 IgG selectively inhibits P450IIIA form marker activities, including steroid 6β -hydroxylase, erythromycin demethylase and NADPH-dependent TAO complex formation in microsomes from PB-treated dogs. Major species differences exist in the apparent K(m) for 6β -hydroxylation of androstenedione by liver microsomes from humans, untreated rats and untreated dogs. In addition, evidence for functional heterogeneity of dog P450IIIA forms is presented: pretreatment of microsomes from PB-treated dogs with TAO plus NADPH had no effect on androstenedione 6β -hydroxylase activity.

The cytochrome P-450 dependent monooxygenase system plays a key role in the bioactivation and detoxication of xenobiotics. Isozyme-specific inhibitors of cytochrome P-450 may be useful in elucidating the role of particular isozymes in xenobiotic metabolism or in suppressing the bioactivation of xenobiotics and enhancing detoxication. The antibiotic chloramphenicol is a selective mechanism-based inactivator of rat liver cytochromes P-450, inactivating 6 of the 12 isozymes monitored, including the major phenobarbital-inducible isozyme PB-B. Analogs of chloramphenicol have been tested to determine the importance of various functional groups in regulating the effectiveness and isozyme selectivity of chloramphenicol as a mechanism-based inactivator of cytochromes P-450. This information will aid in the design of more effective and isozyme specific mechanism-based inactivators. The dihalomethyl group and the propanediol moiety were found to be important in determining the efficacy of inactivation and the ability to inactivate the enzyme by virtue of the modification of the protein as opposed to the modification of the heme moiety. The propanediol side chain also plays a role in the isozyme selectivity. Unlike chloramphenicol, N (2-p-nitrophenethyl)dichloroacetamide (pNO₂DCA), which contains an ethyl group in place of the propanediol side chain of chloramphenicol, is an effective inactivator of BNF-B, the major beta-naphthoflavone-inducible isozyme, as well as PB-B, in vitro and in vivo. Alkaline hydrolysis and enzymatic digestion of the covalently modified isozymes has shown that chloramphenicol and pNO₂DCA are both metabolized by cytochromes P-450 to oxamyl chlorides which bind to lysine and other amino acid residues of the enzyme. However, the mechanism by which pNO₂DCA inactivates BNF-B differs significantly from that by which chloramphenicol inactivates PB-B, although both involve an impairment of the transfer of electrons from NADPH-cytochrome P-450 reductase, suggesting that there are differences in the active sites of these two isozymes.

The steroid androstenedione has been shown to be a valuable tool for the study of selective inactivation of rat liver cytochrome P-450 isozymes. The validity of this method was investigated using microsomes, purified cytochromes P-450, cytochrome P-450 antibodies, and the mechanism-based inactivator chloramphenicol. Enzyme inactivation and antibody inhibition studies show that microsomes from phenobarbital- and non-phenobarbital-treated rats are needed to accurately monitor the inactivation of the major phenobarbital-inducible P-450 isozyme (PB-B) and of the major constitutive androstenedione 16-alpha hydroxylase (UT-A). Enzyme inactivation studies showed that the antibiotic chloramphenicol caused different rates of NADPH-dependent enzyme inactivation among four androstenedione hydroxylases (16-beta > 6-beta > 16-alpha > 7-alpha). The results with twelve chloramphenicol analogs show that their selectivity as cytochrome P-450 inactivators is dependent upon at least three structural features: (1) the number of halogen atoms, (2) the presence of a para-nitro group on the phenyl ring, and (3) substitutions on the ethyl side chain.

No description available.

Tiriamojo darbo tikslas - ištirti pagrindinių technologinių veiksnių (gaminant įvairius pieno produktus) įtaką chloramfenikolio suardymui ar jo sumažinimui. Lietuvoje daug dėmesio skiriama antibiotiko chloramfenikolio likučių aptikimui superkamame piene. Kadangi tai vienas iš stipriausių, plataus veikimo spektro, antibiotikų, todėl labai svarbu, kad per pieno produktus šis antibiotikas nepatektų į žmogaus organizmą. Vykdant šį darbą buvo ištirta ar chloramfenikolio koncentracija gali pasikeisti (sumažėti) veikiant įvairiems technologiniams veiksniams, kurie vykdomi gaminant pieno produktus. Paaiškėjo, kad pasterizacijos temperatūra nuo 63 iki 90°C neturėjo įtakos chloramfenikolio kiekiui. Jo koncentracija, prieš ir po temperatūrinio apdorojimo, nepakito. Išlaikymas pieno mėginių su chloramfenikoliu esant 92°C temperatūrai iki 15 min taip pat neturėjo įtakos jo koncentracijai. Pieno laikymas, atšaldžius, esant 8°C temperatūrai ir laikant iki 50val. neturėjo įtakos chloramfenikolio kiekiui. Struktūriniai pieno koloidinės sistemos pokyčiai, pieno mėginius užšaldant (-20°C) ir atšildant (+ 10°C), kurie dalinai gali vykti valgomųjų ledų gamybos metu, bei laikant ar transportuojant pieno mėginius prieš tyrimus, taip pat nepakeitė chloramfenikolio koncentracijos. Rauginant su raugais (Yomix 433, Yomix 860, XT 312) ir su atskiromis pieno rūgšties bakterijomis (Str. lactis, Str. thermophylus, L. acidophylus) pieno mėginius su chloramfenikoliu, nustatyta, kad jo koncentracija... [toliau žr. visą tekstą] / Great attention is paid to the detection of the leftover antibiotic chloramphenicol in the bought up milk in Lithuania. This antibiotic is amongst the strongest ones and is of a wide activity range. Therefore, it is of the utmost importance to prevent its access into the human organism through dairy products consumption. The concentration of the chloramphenicol was analyzed during the study. The analysis focused on whether the concentration can change, i.e. decrease, under the influence of various technological factors, which are set in action during the production of the dairy products. The results showed thai the pasteurization temperature (from 63°C to 90°C) had no impact on the amount of chloramphenicol as its concentration remained the same both prior and alter the temperature processing. Keeping the milk samples with chloramphenicol in the temperature of 92°C up to 15 minutes had no influence either. Furthermore, storing the cooled milk in the temperature of 8°C up to 50 hours did not have any effect upon the amount of chloramphenicol as well. Also, the structural changes of the milk colloidal system when freezing the milk samples (-20°C) and warming them up (f I ()"(.') did not cause any kind of alterations to the chloramphenicol concentration. The mentioned changes of the colloidal systems may partially happen during the storage and transportation of milk samples before the research and during the production of ice-cream. It was defined that when affecting the milk... [to full text]

Στην παρούσα εργασία συνθέσαμε ένα άμινο-άκυλο- και ένα πεπτίδυλο- ανάλογο της χλωραμφαινικόλης. Τα ανάλογα αυτά ήταν η β-αλανίνη-χλωραμφαινικόλη (β-alaCAM) και η φαινυλαλανίνη-φαινυλαλανίνη-χλωραμφαινικόλη (PhePheCAM). Στην συνέχεια μελετήσαμε την βιολογική συμπεριφορά των αναλόγων αυτών μέσα από την μελέτη της κινητικής της αναστολής του σχηματισμού πεπτιδικού δεσμού που επιφέρουν τα εν λόγω ανάλογα. Σε πρωτεϊνοσυνθετικό σύστημα ριβοσωμάτων εκπορευόμενων από Escherichia coli η σύνθεση ακέτυλο-φαινυλαλάνυλο-πουρομυκίνης πραγματοποιείται μέσω μιας αντίδρασης ψευδοπρώτης τάξεως μεταξύ συμπλέγματος C, δηλαδή ακέτυλο-φαινυλαλάνυλο-poly(U)-ριβοσωμάτων, και περίσσειας πουρομυκίνης. Τόσο η β-alaCAM, όσο και η PhePheCAM μελετήθηκαν ως αναστολείς της αντίδρασης σύνθεσης ακέτυλο-φαινυλαλάνυλο-πουρομυκίνης και τα αποτελέσματα της κινητικής της αναστολής που επέφεραν συγκρίθηκαν με γνωστά από την βιβλιογραφία αντίστοιχα αποτελέσματα που αφορούν τόσο την μητρική ένωση, όσο και άλλα άμινο-άκυλο- και πεπτιδικά ανάλογα αυτής. Αρχικά παρατηρήσαμε ότι, απουσία αναστολέα, η αντίδραση ακολουθεί κινητική πρώτης τάξεως καθόλη την χρονική διάρκεια της χημικής αντίδρασης. Ωστόσο, στη συνέχεια παρατηρήσαμε ότι η παρουσία τόσο της β-alaCAM, όσο και της PhePheCAM είχε σαν αποτέλεσμα διφασικές λογαριθμικές συναρτήσεις συγκέντρωσης – χρόνου, όπου υφίστατο μία αρχική ή πρώτη χρονική φάση και μία τελική ή δεύτερη χρονική φάση της χημικής αντίδρασης πουρομυκίνης. Ακολούθησε λεπτομερής κινητική ανάλυση, αρχικά μέσω διαγραμμάτων διπλού αντιστρόφου για τις αρχικές και τις τελικές κλίσεις των λογαριθμικών χρονοκαμπυλών, καθώς και στη συνέχεια μέσω επαναδιαγραμμάτων αρχικών και τελικών κλίσεων έναντι της συγκέντρωσης του αναστολέα. Με τον τρόπο αυτό υπολογίστηκαν οι κινητικές σταθερές αναστολής Κi οι οποίες και συγκρίθηκαν με την κινητική σταθερά αναστολής της μητρικής ένωσης. Τέλος, μέσω υπολογιστικού προγράμματος προσομοίωσης, σχεδιάστηκαν οι συναρτήσεις της φαινομενικής σταθεράς εξισορρόπησης keq έναντι της συγκέντρωσης του αναστολέα και υπολογίστηκαν οι σταθερές k6 και k7. Tόσο η β-alaCAM όσο και η PhePheCAM εμφάνισαν συμπεριφορά βραδέως προσδενομένου συναγωνιστικού αναστολέα ανεξάρτητα από την συγκέντρωσή τους, σε αντίθεση με την μητρική ένωση η οποία εμφανίζει συμπεριφορά συναγωνιστικού αναστολέα σε μικρές συγκεντρώσεις αυτής και συμπεριφορά μικτού μη-συναγωνιστικού αναστολέα σε μεγαλύτερες συγκεντρώσεις αυτής. H β-alaCAM ευρέθηκε 4,6 φορές περισσότερο βιολογικά δραστική από την PhePheCAM και 14,3 βιολογικά ασθενέστερη από την μητρική ένωση. Σε αντίθεση με τη μητρική ένωση, η οποία δεν υφίσταται ισομερισμό, τόσο η β-alaCAM όσο και η PhePheCAM δίνουν, στην τελική ή δεύτερη χρονική φάση της αντίδρασης πουρομυκίνης, γένεση στο ισομερισμένο σύμπλοκο C*I. Αξιοσημείωτη είναι η παρατήρηση ότι ο σχηματισμός του ισομερισμένου συμπλόκου C*I λαμβάνει χώρα μέσω δύο κινητικών βημάτων στην περίπτωση της β-alaCAM, αλλά μέσω ενός μόνο κινητικού βήματος στην περίπτωση της PhePheCAM. Προτείνουμε, ως μοντέλο επεξηγηματικό του μηχανισμού βιολογικής δράσης και χημικής κινητικής των μελετηθέντων συνθετικών αναλόγων, ότι τόσο η β-alaCAM όσο και η PhePheCAM παρουσιάζουν αυξημένη στερεοχημική ομοιότητα με το 3΄-άκρο του άμινο-άκυλο-tRNA ή με το 3΄-άκρο του πεπτίδυλο-tRNA συγκριτικά με τη μητρική ένωση. Η αυξημένη αυτή στερεοχημική ομοιότητα πιθανότατα εξηγεί τον εκσεσημασμένο συναγωνιστικό χαρακτήρα της αναστολής που εμφανίζουν τα μελετηθέντα ανάλογα συγκριτικά με τη μητρική ένωση, ασχέτως του γεγονότος ότι η συνολική αναστολή που επιφέρουν δεν αποδεικνύεται σε καμία περίπτωση ισχυρότερη της αναστολής που επιφέρει η μητρική ένωση. Για τον λόγο αυτό τα εν λόγω συνθετικά ανάλογα της χλωραμφαινικόλης θα πρέπει να θεωρηθούν παλίνδρομα-ανάστροφα ανάλογα (retro-inverso analogs). / One aminoacyl and one peptidyl analog of chloramphenicol (Cl2CHCO-CAM) were prepared. These are L-β-alaCAM and L-PhePheCAM. The kinetics of inhibition of peptide bond formation by these analogs were examined in a cell-free system which had been used previously for the study of Cl2CHCO-CAM [Drainas et al, Eur. J. Biochem. 1987, 164, 53-58]. In a model cell-free system, derived from Escherichia coli, acetylphenylalanyl-puromycin is produced in a pseudo-first-order reaction between the preformed acetylphenylalanyl/tRNA/poly(U)/ribosome complex (complex C) and excess puromycin. Both L-β-alaCAM and L-PhePheCAM were tested as inhibitors in this reaction. In the absence of inhibitor, the reaction follows first-order kinetics for the entire course of the reaction. In the presence of the analog the reaction gives biphasic log-time plots. The kinetic informations pertaining to the initial and the terminal slopes of the plot are analyzed (initial-slope and terminal-slope analysis). Μοreover, through a computer simulation non-linear regression fitting program, the plots between the keq values and the concentration of the inhibitor [I] were constructed, and consequently the values of k6 and k7 were estimated. Detailed kinetic analysis suggests that both these analogs (I) behave as slow-binding inhibitors and react competitively with complex C to form the complex C*I which is inactive towards puromycin. In the presence of L-β-alaCAM, C*I is formed via a two-step mechanism in which C*I is the product of a slow conformational change of the initial encounter complex CI according to the equation C + I CI C*I. Our results, concerning the two-step mechanism of L-β-alaCAM are in agreement with the results of previous investigations evaluating the potency and kinetic mechanisms of other aminoacyl and peptidyl analogs of chloramphenicol [Michelinaki et al, Mol. Pharmacol. 1997, 51, 139-146]. However, in the presence of L-PhePheCAM, our results are unique because we found evidences that C*I is formed via a one-step mechanism as a product of a slow conformational change according to the equation C + I C*I. The parent compound gives complex inhibition kinetics; increasing the concentration of the parent compound changes the inhibition from competitive to mixed noncompetitive [Drainas et al, Eur. J. Biochem. 1987, 164, 53-58]. In contrast, the analogs give competitive kinetics even at high concentrations of the inhibitor. The following Ki and Ki* values have been determined: Ki = 45 μΜ for L-β-alaCAM, Ki* = 10 μΜ for L-β-alaCAM and Ki* = 46 μM for L-PhePheCAM. If we were to assume that both L-β-alaCAM and L-PhePheCAM behave as classical competitive inhibitors, we could say that L-β-alaCAM is 4.6 times more potent than L-PhePheCAM. On this assumption we could also compare chloramphenicol with L-β-alaCAM and see that L-β-alaCAM is 14.3 times weaker than chloramphenicol (Ki = 0.7 μΜ). It is suggested that as compared with chloramphenicol, both L-β-alaCAM and L-PhePheCAM have increased structural similarity to the 3΄-terminus of aminoacyl-tRNA or of peptidyl-tRNA and this similarity results in a more pronounced competitive inhibition. The results are compared with previous data and discussed on the basis of a possible retro-inverso relationship between chloramphenicol analogs and puromycin.

No description available.

O desenvolvimento de novos materiais para a aplicação em eletroanalítica, uma atividade extremamente atraente, visa produzir compostos com condutividade elétrica alta, estabilidade mecânica e química e grandes áreas superficiais. Assim, nesta tese foram desenvolvidos Carbonos Mesoporosos Ordenados, um tipo de material carbônico recentemente explorado para diversas aplicações devido às suas propriedades específicas e facilmente manipuláveis. A produção inicia-se com a síntese da sílica mesoporosa utilizada como template, seguida pela impregnação por molhamento incipiente utilizando moléculas que são concomitantemente, fontes de carbono e de um heteroátomo (S, N ou O). Após a polimerização e carbonização em atmosfera não-oxidante, removeu-se o template de sílica, obtendo-se um material altamente organizado de estrutura mesoporosa, caracterizado pelas análises de BET, MET e DRX em ângulos baixos. Os materiais sintetizados apresentaram área superficial grande e acessível, indicadas pelas as análises de BET, o que ofereceu uma alta eficiência de pré-concentração de analitos. A fim de garantir um carbono com características grafíticas e boa condutividade, partiu-se de fontes carbônicas aromáticas e utilizou-se o óxido de ferro como catalisador da polimerização. Com isso, obteve-se materiais com carácter grafítico, mostrado pelas análises de DRX e Raman, com excelentes propriedades elétricas e transferência eletrônica mais rápida, mostrado pelas análises eletroquímicas (VC e EIE) garantindo um material com excelente atividade eletrocatalítica. Os três diferentes tipos de dopagem geraram três materiais distintos, que diferem não apenas na composição química, mas também nas propriedades físicas, elétricas e em sua resposta eletroanalítica. Os materiais sintetizados foram aplicados na detecção do cloranfenicol, um antibiótico com propriedades antibacterianas e farmacocinéticas excelentes, porém proibido em produtos destinados ao consumo humano. A metodologia desenvolvida apresentou boa sensibilidade e limites de detecção e quantificação, além da capacidade de analisar diretamente leite em pó, sem a necessidade de etapas trabalhosas de preparo de amostra. / The development of new materials for electroanalitycal application aims to produce materials with high electric conductivity, mechanical and chemical stability, and high surface areas. So, in this thesis, it was developed Ordered Mesoporous Carbon, a carbonic material recently explored in several applications due its specific plasticity properties. The production starts with the mesoporous silica synthesis. It is used as template, followed by the incipient wetness impregnation using molecules that are both a carbon source and heteroatom precursor (S, N or O). After the polymerization and the non-oxidant atmosphere carbonization, the template was removed, what yielded a highy ordered mesoporous structure, demonstrated by BET, TEM and low-angle XRD analysis. The synthetized materials showed high and accessible surface area, demonstrated by BET, which allowed high pre-concentration efficiency with a fast diffusion process. In order to get a graphitic carbon with good conductivity, it was used aromatic carbon precursors and iron as polymerization catalyst. Consequently, a material with graphitic character was getting, as we can see at XRD and Raman, with excellent electric properties and faster electronic transference, showed by electrochemical analysis (CV and EIS), leading to a material with excellent electrocatalytic activity. The three different doping types leading to three distinct materials, which differ not only at chemical composition, but also at physical, electrics and electroanalytical properties. The materials was applied at chloramphenicol detection, an antibiotic with excellent antibacterial and pharmacokinetics properties. However, it is forbidden in edible products. The developed methodology has good sensibility, and limits of detection and quantification. In addition, was possible to analyze powder milk directly, without any other timing consuming procedure of sample preparing.

O desenvolvimento de novos materiais para a aplicação em eletroanalítica, uma atividade extremamente atraente, visa produzir compostos com condutividade elétrica alta, estabilidade mecânica e química e grandes áreas superficiais. Assim, nesta tese foram desenvolvidos Carbonos Mesoporosos Ordenados, um tipo de material carbônico recentemente explorado para diversas aplicações devido às suas propriedades específicas e facilmente manipuláveis. A produção inicia-se com a síntese da sílica mesoporosa utilizada como template, seguida pela impregnação por molhamento incipiente utilizando moléculas que são concomitantemente, fontes de carbono e de um heteroátomo (S, N ou O). Após a polimerização e carbonização em atmosfera não-oxidante, removeu-se o template de sílica, obtendo-se um material altamente organizado de estrutura mesoporosa, caracterizado pelas análises de BET, MET e DRX em ângulos baixos. Os materiais sintetizados apresentaram área superficial grande e acessível, indicadas pelas as análises de BET, o que ofereceu uma alta eficiência de pré-concentração de analitos. A fim de garantir um carbono com características grafíticas e boa condutividade, partiu-se de fontes carbônicas aromáticas e utilizou-se o óxido de ferro como catalisador da polimerização. Com isso, obteve-se materiais com carácter grafítico, mostrado pelas análises de DRX e Raman, com excelentes propriedades elétricas e transferência eletrônica mais rápida, mostrado pelas análises eletroquímicas (VC e EIE) garantindo um material com excelente atividade eletrocatalítica. Os três diferentes tipos de dopagem geraram três materiais distintos, que diferem não apenas na composição química, mas também nas propriedades físicas, elétricas e em sua resposta eletroanalítica. Os materiais sintetizados foram aplicados na detecção do cloranfenicol, um antibiótico com propriedades antibacterianas e farmacocinéticas excelentes, porém proibido em produtos destinados ao consumo humano. A metodologia desenvolvida apresentou boa sensibilidade e limites de detecção e quantificação, além da capacidade de analisar diretamente leite em pó, sem a necessidade de etapas trabalhosas de preparo de amostra. / The development of new materials for electroanalitycal application aims to produce materials with high electric conductivity, mechanical and chemical stability, and high surface areas. So, in this thesis, it was developed Ordered Mesoporous Carbon, a carbonic material recently explored in several applications due its specific plasticity properties. The production starts with the mesoporous silica synthesis. It is used as template, followed by the incipient wetness impregnation using molecules that are both a carbon source and heteroatom precursor (S, N or O). After the polymerization and the non-oxidant atmosphere carbonization, the template was removed, what yielded a highy ordered mesoporous structure, demonstrated by BET, TEM and low-angle XRD analysis. The synthetized materials showed high and accessible surface area, demonstrated by BET, which allowed high pre-concentration efficiency with a fast diffusion process. In order to get a graphitic carbon with good conductivity, it was used aromatic carbon precursors and iron as polymerization catalyst. Consequently, a material with graphitic character was getting, as we can see at XRD and Raman, with excellent electric properties and faster electronic transference, showed by electrochemical analysis (CV and EIS), leading to a material with excellent electrocatalytic activity. The three different doping types leading to three distinct materials, which differ not only at chemical composition, but also at physical, electrics and electroanalytical properties. The materials was applied at chloramphenicol detection, an antibiotic with excellent antibacterial and pharmacokinetics properties. However, it is forbidden in edible products. The developed methodology has good sensibility, and limits of detection and quantification. In addition, was possible to analyze powder milk directly, without any other timing consuming procedure of sample preparing.

A simple anaerobic digestion model has been developed for a continuously-stirred tank reactor (CSTR), which links the specific biogas production rate to the food/microorganism ratio (F/M). The model treats the various microbial populations involved in the sequential biological processes involved in anaerobic digestion as a composite and links the entire biomass specific growth rate directly to the specific biogas production rate. The model was calibrated by determining the specific gas production rate for a range of F/M values using a municipal wastewater seed sludge. The model predictions for steady-state biogas production rates were compared to observed biogas production and volatile solids destruction results from three laboratory-scale anaerobic digesters that were operated at hydraulic retention times of 10, 15, and 20 days. The F/M model results were shown to agree with reactor biogas output for 10, 15, and 20 day hydraulic retention times to within 5.0%, 14.3%, and 9.5%, respectively. A commercial wastewater treatment plant model, BioWin 3, was also used to model anaerobic digestion as a comparison. Agreement for the BioWin 3 model results, as compared to the 10, 15, and 20-day hydraulic retention time reactors, was within 66.2%, 114.1%, and 105.1%, respectively. In all cases the BioWin 3 model over-predicted biogas output as compared to the reactors. A molecular biology method called RT-RiboSyn was developed to measure the specific growth rate of microbial populations. RT-RiboSyn, is an ex situ method that utilizes a reverse transcription and primer extension (RT&PE) method to analyze the rRNA extracted from a time series of samples treated with chloramphenicol. The method measures the rate of ribosome synthesis over time through the increase in precursor 16S rRNA (pre16S rRNA) relative to the mature 16S rRNA (16S rRNA). A single fluorescently labeled primer that targets an interior region of both pre16S and 16S rRNA for a distinct population is used to generate two pools of reverse transcription product. The ratio of pre16S and 16S rRNA is then determined by separating these pools by length using capillary electrophoresis, and measuring the fluorescent intensity of each pool of fragments. Results from three different log growth cultures of Acinetobacter calcoaceticus indicate that RT-RiboSyn, as compared to spectrophotometer readings, was able to predict specific growth rates within -3.1% to 10% and -3.3% to 21.0% when using a primer targeting Eubacteria and Acinetobacter, respectively. The RT-RiboSyn results from a stationary phase culture predicted no growth and possible 16S rRNA degradation. Further work was completed to determine whether the RiboSyn method would successfully measure growth rates of specific microbial populations in environmental samples. The first of these was activated sludge from a high-purity oxygen system in a wastewater treatment facility located in Tampa, Florida. The organism targeted was the Acinetobacter genus, which was shown to be prevalent via fluorescence in situ hybridization results. RT-RiboSyn results indicated that growth was not measureable for the Acinetobacter present in the system; however, since the sludge was taken at the end of the process, Acinetobacter may have been in stationary phase when the samples were collected. Attempts were made to apply the method to methanogens in both pure culture and anaerobic digester sludge samples. An analysis of samples of RNA from Methanosarcina barkeri indicated that the presence of 16S rRNA could be measured; however, capillary electrophoresis instrument limitations prevented the detection of pre16S rRNA fragments. Additional testing of anaerobic digester sludge for both bacterial and Archaeal population was successful for detecting 16S rRNA and possibly precursor 16S rRNA fragments of a variety of lengths. However, specific growth rates could not be determined for the Archaea present in these samples, either due to capillary electrophoresis limitations or very slow growth rates. The results show that the RT-RiboSyn method is applicable to pure cultures; however, a modification of the method is needed to overcome the limitations apparent in populations with low specific growth rates.