No description available.

(R)-phenylacetylcarbinol or R-PAC is a chiral precursor for the synthesis of pharmaceuticals ephedrine and pseudoephedrine. PAC is produced through biotransformation of pyruvate and benzaldehyde catalyzed by pyruvate decarboxylase (PDC) enzyme. The present research project aims at characterizing a two-phase aqueous/organic process for enzymatic PAC production. In a comparative study of several selected yeast PDCs, the highest PAC formation was achieved in systems with relatively high benzaldehyde concentrations when using C. utilis PDC. C. tropicalis PDC was associated with the lowest by-product acetoin formation although it also produced lower PAC concentrations. C. utilis PDC was therefore selected as the biocatalyst for the development of the two-phase PAC production. From an enzyme stability study it was established that PDC deactivation rates in the twophase aqueous/octanol-benzaldehyde system were affected by: (1) soluble octanol and benzaldehyde in the aqueous phase, (2) agitation rate, (3) aqueous/organic interfacial area, and (4) initial enzyme concentration. PDC deactivation was less severe in the slowly stirred phase-separated system (low interfacial area) compared to the rapidly stirred emulsion system (high interfacial area), however the latter system was presumably associated with a faster rate of organic-aqueous benzaldehyde transfer. To find a balance between maintaining enzyme stability while enhancing PAC productivity, a two-phase system was designed to reduce the interfacial contact by decreasing the organic to aqueous phase volume ratio. Lowering the ratio from 1:1 to 0.43:1 resulted in increased overall PAC production at 4??C and 20??C (2.5 M MOPS, partially purified PDC) with a higher concentration at the higher temperature. The PAC was highly concentrated in the organic phase with 212 g/L at 0.43:1 in comparison to 111 g/L at 1:1 ratio at 20??C. The potential of further two-phase process simplification was evaluated by reducing the expensive MOPS concentration to 20 mM (pH controlled at 7.0) and employment of whole cell PDC. It was found that 20??C was the optimum temperature for PAC production in such a system, however under these conditions lowering the phase ratio resulted in decreased overall PAC production. Two-phase PAC production was relatively low in 20 mM MOPS compared to biotransformations in 2.5 M MOPS. Addition of 2.5 M dipropylene glycol (DPG) into the aqueous phase with 20 mM MOPS at 0.25:1 ratio and 20??C improved the production with organic phase containing 95 g/L PAC. Although the productivity was lower, the system may have the benefit of a reduction in production cost.

A new immobilization technique has been developed in our lab using a new inert support material. Immobilized enzymes by the new method have a number of salient features of high activity, low cost and large catalytic area in comparison with the traditional immobilized enzymes. This new immobilization technique has potential to be widely applied for other enzymes. / Another new application of the immobilization method is to produce low lactose milk using immobilized lactase. A large population of people, especially the Asian, has intolerance to milk because of the lack of lactase in intestines. Pre-treatment of milk with immobilized lactase effectively reduces the milk lactose to an acceptable level for those people. / Enzyme was introduced for industrial application as early as nineteenth century. Immobilized enzymes have been developed since early 1960s. In recent years, immobilized enzymes have expanded their applications in many fields, food industry in particular, thanks to their superiority over the soluble forms: multiple or repetitive use; easier separation from reaction system; continuous production process; longer half-life and predictable decay rates. / Glucoamylase was also immobilized by the method. The differences between soluble and immobilized enzyme were compared. The potential using the immobilized glucoamylase in production of glucose syrup in replacement of liquid glucoamylase in current industrial process was assessed. / In this thesis, I have established the optimal immobilization conditions for three food enzymes, glucose isomerase, glucoamylase and lactase. The parameters including temperature, pH, protein capacity, and the ratios of cross-linker and adsorption agent have been studied in details. The applications of the consequently produced immobilized enzymes were studied and compared with the current industrial processes. / The novel immobilized glucose isomerase was applied to convert corn glucose into High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS) containing higher concentration of fructose than the current HFCS and achieved much better productivity than the existing immobilized glucose isomerases. / Shen, Dong. / "August 2007." / Advisers: Jun Wang; Kwok Kueng Ho. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 69-02, Section: B, page: 1000. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2007. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 175-194). / Electronic reproduction. Hong Kong : Chinese University of Hong Kong, [2012] System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader. Available via World Wide Web. / Electronic reproduction. [Ann Arbor, MI] : ProQuest Information and Learning, [200-] System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader. Available via World Wide Web. / Abstract in English and Chinese. / School code: 1307.

Yap Hong Kin. / "April 2004." / Thesis (Ph.D.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2004. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 102-116) / Electronic reproduction. Hong Kong : Chinese University of Hong Kong, [2012] System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader. Available via World Wide Web. / Mode of access: World Wide Web. / Abstracts in English and Chinese.

No description available.

In this study white-rot fungi were investigated for their efficiency at distillery wastewater remediation and the production of laccase as a valuable by-product. Distillery wastewaters are high in organic load and low in pH. The presence of phenolic compounds can lead to extremely colour-rich wastewaters and can be toxic to microorganisms. The presence of the inorganic ions may also affect biological treatment. White-rot fungi are unique among eukaryotic or prokaryotic microbes in possessing powerful oxidative enzyme systems that can degrade lignin to carbon dioxide. These ligninolytic enzymes, such as lignin peroxidase, manganese peroxidase and laccase, are capable of degrading a vast range of toxic, recalcitrant environmental pollutants and this makes the white-rot fungi strong candidates for the bioremediation of polluted soils and waters. The laccase enzyme alone has shown remediation potential in wastewaters such as beer production effluent, olive mill wastewater, alcohol distillery wastes, dye-containing wastewaters from the textile industry as well as wastewaters from the paper and pulp industry. It has been shown to be capable of remediating soils and waters polluted with chlorinated phenolic compounds, polyaromatic hydrocarbons, nitrosubstituted compounds and fungicides, herbicides and insecticides.

The launch of national and international initiatives to reduce pollution, reliance on fossil fuels and increase the beneficiation of agricultural wastes has prompted research into sugar monomer production from lignocellulosic wastes. These sugars can subsequently be used in the production of biofuels and environmentally degradable plastics. This study investigated the use of synergistic combinations of commercial and pure enzymes to lower enzyme costs and loadings, while increasing enzyme activity in the hydrolysis of agricultural waste. Pineapple pomace was selected due to its current underutilisation and the substantial quantities of it produced annually, as a by-product of pineapple canning. One of the primary costs in beneficiating agricultural wastes, such as pineapple pomace, is the high cost of enzyme solutions used to generate reducing sugars. This can be lowered through the use of synergistic combinations of enzymes. Studies related to the inclusion of hemicellulose degrading enzymes with commercial enzyme solutions have been limited and investigation of these solutions in select combinations, together with pineapple pomace substrate, allows for novel research. The use of synergistic combinations of purified cellulosomal enzymes has previously been shown to be effective at releasing reducing sugars from agricultural wastes. For the present study, MannanaseA and XylanaseA from Clostridium cellulovorans were heterologously expressed in Escherichia coli BL21 (DE3) cells and purified with immobilised metal affinity chromatography. These enzymes, in addition to two commercially available enzyme solutions (Celluclast 1.5L® and Pectinex® 3XL), were assayed on defined polysaccharides that are present in pineapple pomace to determine their substrate specificities. The degree(s) of synergy and specific activities of selected combinations of these enzymes were tested under both simultaneous and sequential conditions. It was observed that several synergistic combinations of enzyme solutions in select ratios, such as C20P60X20 (20% cellulose, 60% pectinase and 20% xylanse), C20P40X40 (20% cellulose, 40% pectinase and 40% xylanase) and C20P80 (20% cellulose, 80% pectinase) with pineapple pomace could both decrease the protein loading, while raising the level of activity compared to individual enzyme solutions. The highest quantity of reducing sugars to protein weight used on pineapple pomace was recorded at 3, 9 and 18 hours with combinations of Pectinex® 3XL and Celluclast 1.5L®, but for 27 h it was combinations of both these commercial solutions with XynA. The contribution of XynA was significant as C20P60X20 displayed the second highest reducing sugar production of 1.521 mg/mL, at 36 h from 12.875 μg/mL of protein, which was the second lowest protein loading. It was also shown that certain enzyme combinations, such as Pectinex® 3XL, Celluclast 1.5L® and XynA, did not generate synergy when combined in solution at the initial stages of hydrolysis, and instead generated a form of competition called anti-synergy. This was due to Pectinex® 3XL which had anti-synergy relationships in select combinations with the other enzyme solutions assayed. It was also observed that the degree of synergy and specific activity for a combination changed over time. Some solutions displayed the highest levels of synergy at the commencement of hydrolysis, namely Celluclast 1.5L®, ManA and XynA. Other combinations exhibited the highest levels of synergy at the end of the assay period, such as Pectinex® 3XL and Celluclast 1.5L®. Whether greater synergy was generated at the start or end of hydrolysis was a function of the stability of the enzymes in solution and whether enzyme activity increased substrate accessibility or generated competition between enzymes in solution. Sequential synergy studies demonstrated an anti-synergy relationship between Pectinex® 3XL and XynA or ManA, as well as Pectinex® 3 XL and Celluclast 1.5L®. It was found that under sequential synergy conditions with Pectinex® 3 XL, XynA and ManA, that anti-synergy could be negated and high degrees of synergy attained when the enzymes were added in specific loading orders and not inhibited by the presence of other active enzymes. The importance of loading order was demonstrated under sequential synergy conditions when XynA was added before ManA followed by Pectinex® 3 XL, which increased the activity and synergy of the solution by 50%. This equates to a 60% increase in reducing sugar release from the same concentrations of enzymes and emphasises the importance of removing anti-synergy relationships from combinations of enzymes. It can be concluded that a C20P60X20 combination (based on activity) can both synergistically increase the reducing sugar production and lower the protein loading required for pineapple pomace hydrolysis. This study also highlights the importance of reducing anti-synergy in customised enzyme cocktails and how sequential synergy can demonstrate the order in which a lignocellulosic waste is degraded.

Maintenance of membrane performance requires inevitable cleaning or defouling of fouled membranes. Membrane cleaning using enzymes such as proteases, lipases, α-glucosidases from a sulphidogenic bioreactor was investigated. At first, dilute and concentrated enzyme extract were prepared form the sulphidogenic pellet. Enzyme assays on 0.5 % azocaisen, 1 % triacetin and 1 mg/ml ρ-nitrophenyl-α-D-glucopyranoside were performed using the concentrated enzyme extract (0 – 200 mg/ml). For membrane fouling, an abattoir effluent was obtained from Ostritech Pty (Ltd), Grahamstown, South Africa. The effluent was characterised for presence of potential foulants such as lipids, proteins, amino acids and carbohydrates. Static fouling of polysulphone membranes (0.22 μm, 47 mm) was then performed using the abattoir effluent. Cleaning of the fouled membranes was also performed using at first the dilute and then the concentrated form (200 mg/ml) of enzyme extracts. Qualitative and quantitative biochemical analysis for proteins, lipids and carbohydrates was performed to ascertain the presence of foulants on polysulphone membranes and their removal by dilute or concentrated enzyme extracts. The ability of dilute enzyme extracts to remove proteins lipids, and carbohydrates fouling capillary UF membrane module; their ability to restore permeate fluxes and transmembrane pressure after cleaning/defouling was also investigated. Permeate volumes from this UF membrane module were analysed for protein, amino acids, lipids, and carbohydrates concentrations after fouling and defouling. Fouling was further characterized by standard blocking, cake filtration and pore blocking models using stirred UF cell and polyethersulphone membranes with MWCO of 30 000, 100 000 and 300 000. After characterization of fouling, polyethersulphone membranes with MWCO of 30 000 and 300 000 were defouled using the concentrated enzyme extract (100 mg ml). Enzyme activities at 200 mg/ml of enzyme concentration were 8.071 IU, 86.71 IU and 789.02 IU for proteases, lipases and α-glucosidases. The abattoir effluent contained 553 μg/ml of lipid, 301 μg/ml of protein, 141 μg/ml of total carbohydrate, and 0.63 μg/ml of total reducing sugars. Proteins, lipids and carbohydrates fouling polysulphone membranes after a day were removed by 23.4 %, when a dilute enzyme was used. A concentrated enzyme extract of 200 mg/ml was able to remove proteins, lipids and carbohydrates up to 5 days of fouling by 100 %, 82 %, 71 %, 68 % and 76 % respectively. Defouling of dynamically fouled capillary ultrafiltration membranes using sulphidogenic proteases was successful at pH 10, 37°C, within 1 hour. Sulphidogenic proteases activity was 2.1 U/ml and flux Recovery (FR %) was 64. Characterization of fouling revealed that proteins and lipids were major foulants while low concentration of carbohydrates fouled polyethersulphone membranes. Fouling followed standard blocking for 10 minutes in all the membranes; afterwards fouling adopted cake filtration model for membranes with 30 000 MWCO and pore blocking model for membranes with 300 000 MWCO. A concentration of 100 mg/ml of enzyme extract was able to remove fouling from membranes with MWCO of 30 000. Defouling membranes that followed pore blocking model i.e. 300 000 MWCO was not successful due to a mass transfer problem. From the results of defouling of 30 000 and 300 000 MWCO it was concluded that defouling of cake layer fouling (30 000 MWCO) was successful while defouling of pore blocking fouling was unsuccessful due to a mass transfer problem. The ratio of enzymes present in the enzyme extract when calculated based on enzymatic activity for proteases, lipases and α-glucosidases was 1.1 %, 11 % and 87.9 %. It was hypothesized that apart from proteases, lipases, α and β-glucosidases; phosphatases, sulphatases, amonipeptidases etc. from a sulphidogenic bioreactor clean or defoul cake layer fouling by organic foulants and pore blocking fouling provided the mass transfer problem is solved. However, concentration of enzymes from a sulphidogenic bioreactor has not been optimized yet. Other methods of concentrating the enzyme extract can be investigated for example use of organic solvents.

Orientador: Fabio Marcio Squina, Roberto Ruller / Dissertação (mestrado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Instituto de Biologia / Made available in DSpace on 2018-08-22T02:46:06Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Hoffmam_ZairaBruna_M.pdf: 4922807 bytes, checksum: df6edae9e54a10424f07783fcf889151 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2013 / Resumo: O etanol de segunda geração, produzido a partir dos polissacarídeos da biomassa lignocelulósica, apresenta-se como uma alternativa promissora para tornar a matriz energética brasileira sólida e, em grande parte, renovável. A biomassa é composta basicamente por celulose, hemicelulose e lignina. Celulose e hemicelulose devem ser hidrolisadas a açúcares monoméricos fermentescíveis para produzir etanol. Entretanto, a tarefa de propor um processo enzimático de hidrólise eficiente e de baixo custo com a finalidade de sacarificar a biomassa é desafiadora, pois os polissacarídeos que a compõem são complexos e recalcitrantes. Embora as hemiceluloses representem cerca de 30% dos açúcares do bagaço da cana-de-açúcar, uma das biomassas mais promissoras para a produção de etanol de segunda geração no Brasil, ainda poucos estudos são direcionados ao estudo da sacarificação dessa fração de polissacarídeos. Hemicelulases são glicosídeo hidrolases que catalisam a hidrólise dos polissacarídeos hemicelulósicos, e que em atuação sinérgica com celulases promove a hidrólise do bagaço de cana-de-açúcar de maneira mais eficiente que as classes de enzimas isoladamente. A primeira parte dessa dissertação apresenta a caracterização bioquímica e biofísica de uma arabinofuranosidase GH51 do micro-organismo Bacillus subtilis 168. ?-L-arabinofuranosidases são hemicelulases que hidrolisam terminais não redutores de polissacarídeos contendo arabinose. A AbfA mostrou-se robusta, atuando numa ampla faixa de temperatura, e capaz de liberar monômeros de arabinose hidrolisando 1,5-?-L-arabinoheptaose a partir da extremidade não-redutora. A análise dos dados de SAXS combinada com simulações de dinâmica molecular mostrou que a AbfA em solução é hexamérica, com cada subunidade contendo uma molécula com domínio catalítico em enovelado na forma de barril (?/?)8 seguido por um domínio acessório ?-sandwich. Esses dados evidenciam que a estrutura quaternária pode ser importante para o desempenho de atividade das arabinofuranosidases da família 51. A segunda parte da dissertação aborda uma avaliação da influência dos domínios de ligação a carboidratos na atividade de xilanases mesofílicas e termofílicas. Xilanases são hemicelulases que catalisam a hidrólise de ligações endo-1,4-?-D-xilosídicas na molécula de xilano. Fusões gênicas uniram end-to-end um CBM6 de Clostridium thermocellum aos domínios catatalíticos xilanásicos das enzimas GH10 termofílica (de Thermotoga petrophila) e GH11 mesofílica (de Bacillus subtilis 168). O CBM6 alterou o padrão de hidrólise das quimeras termofílicas e aumentou a constante de eficiência da quimera mesofílica, quando comparadas as enzimas nativas respectivas. Além disso, na hidrólise da biomassa da cana-de-açúcar a xilanase quimérica mesofílica suplementou o coquetel comercial Accellerase 1500, liberando mais açúcares redutores. Dessa forma a fusão ao CBM6 mostrou-se uma alternativa para construir enzimas com melhor desempenho cinético / Abstract: The second generation ethanol, produced from lignocellulosic biomass polysaccharides, presents itself as a promising alternative to make the Brazilian energy matrix solid and largely renewable. Biomass is composed mainly of cellulose, hemicellulose and lignin. Cellulose and hemicellulose must be hydrolyzed in fermentable monomeric sugars to produce ethanol. However, the task of proposing a process for enzymatic hydrolysis efficient and low cost in order to saccharify the biomass is challenging because its polysaccharides are complex and recalcitrant, so it requires the presence of several different catalytic activities for hydrolysis. Although hemicelluloses represent about 30% of sugars from sugarcane bagasse, one of the most promising biomass for the production of second generation ethanol in Brazil, few studies are directed to the saccharification study of this polysaccharidic fraction. Hemicellulases are glycoside hydrolases that catalyze the hydrolysis of hemicellulosic polysaccharides and works synergistically with cellulases promoting the hydrolysis of sugarcane bagasse more efficiently than each one class of enzymes alone. The first part of this dissertation presents the biochemistry and biophysics characterization of a GH51 arabinofuranosidase from microorganism Bacillus subtilis 168. ?-Larabinofuranosidases are hemicellulases that hydrolyze linkages in terminal nonreducing ends of polysaccharides containing arabinose. The AbfA showed itself robust, working in a wide temperature range, and able to release arabinose monomers hydrolyzing 1,5-?-L-arabinoheptaose from the non-reducing end. The analysis of SAXS data in combination with molecular dynamics simulations showed that AbfA solution is hexameric, with each subunit containing a molecule with catalytic domain coiled in the form of barrel (?/?)8 followed by a ?-sandwich domain accessory. These results evidence and corroborate data that the quaternary structure may be important for the activity of GH51 arabinofuranosidases family. The second part of the thesis adresses an evaluation of the influence of carbohydratebinding modules, non-catalytic domains of polysaccharides recognition, in the activity of mesophilic and thermophilic xylanases. Xylanases are hemicellulases that catalyze the hydrolysis of endo-1 ,4-?-D-xylosidic linkages in xylan molecule. Gene fusions joined end-to-end a CBM6 from Clostridium thermocellum to catalytic xylanasic domains of enzymes thermophilic GH10 (from Thermotoga petrophila) and mesophilic GH11 (from Bacillus subtilis 168). The CBM6 changed the hydrolysis pattern of thermophilic chimeras increased the efficiency constant of mesophilic chimera, when compared to the respective native enzymes. Furthermore, in the sugarcane biomass hydrolysis mesophilic chimeric xylanase supplemented the commercial cocktail Accellerase 1500, releasing more reducing sugars. In conclusion, the CBM6 fusion proved itself an alternative to construct enzymes with better kinetic performance / Mestrado / Bioquimica / Mestra em Biologia Funcional e Molecular

Thesis (Msc (Viticulture and Oenology))--University of Stellenbosch, 2007. / Among the factors contributing to wine complexity and quality, wine aroma is one of the most important factors. Wine aroma is the outcome of interaction among different compounds produced from the grapes, during fermentation as well as during the ageing process. Apart from its origin from grapes, fungi and yeasts, wine aroma can also be derived from the metabolic activity of wine lactic acid bacteria (LAB). These microorganisms are usually associated with malolactic fermentation (MLF) which normally occurs after alcoholic fermentation. MLF is beneficial to wine due to its contribution to deacidification, microbiological stabilisation and wine aroma formation, with the latter being the most important area of interest in our study. The production of volatile aromatic components in wine can, in part, be achieved through the hydrolytic action of enzymes produced by LAB associated with wine. These enzymes include β-glucosidase, protease, esterase, lipase and glucanase. Most of the work done on bacterial enzymes has been on LAB from food sources other than wine, in which these enzymes contribute to the flavour development of some cheeses, yoghurt and other fermented foods. The activity of these enzymes during wine fermentation has mostly been concerned with β-glucosidase from Oenococcus oeni. Only in recent years has there been a renewed interest in evaluating the activity of β-glucosidase in other genera of wine LAB. The overriding goal of this study was to screen and characterise wine-related enzymes produced by LAB associated with wine. All the LAB isolates tested in this study were obtained from IWBT culture collection and were previously isolated from five different wineries situated in the Western Cape region, South Africa. We first screened isolates using classical methods. The isolates were grown on agar medium supplemented with appropriate substrate analogues in order to evaluate the activity of enzymes (i.e. β- glucosidase, glucanase, lipase and esterase). The colonies exhibiting enzymatic activity ...