Carvone is a flavor and fragrance compound that is prominent in nature and is found in the essential oils of many plants. Carvone exists as two enantiomers, (R)-(-)-carvone which has a spearmint aroma and (S)-(+)-carvone which has a caraway aroma and can be used in a variety of applications: as a common food additive, as an antimicrobial/antifungal agent and as a potato sprout inhibitor. Carvone is currently produced by the extraction of essential oils from plants where the yield and quality of the extracted oil depends largely on successful agricultural production of dill, spearmint and caraway plants. Biotechnological production can offer a constant supply of carvone that is independent of several agricultural limitations. In this study, it was confirmed that the substrate and product of the microbial biotransformation of trans-carveol to (R)-(-)-carvone by Rhodococcus erythropolis DCL14 can be inhibitory to the cells at high concentrations. As such, a two phase partitioning bioreactor was employed where the function of the second phase (immiscible organic solvent or solid polymer beads) was to partition the inhibitory substrate into the aqueous phase at a rate governed by the metabolic demand of the cells and uptake the inhibitory product as it accumulated in the aqueous phase. Rational selection strategies were employed when determining the appropriate organic solvent and solid polymer to be used as the second phase. The performance of the reactor was evaluated based on volumetric productivity, length of biotransformation and total volume of substrate added to the reactor. The most successful reactor configuration was one in which styrene/butadiene copolymer beads were used as a second phase in the reactor and the fermentation medium was continuously circulated through an external extraction column packed with Hytrel® 8206 polymer beads. The volumetric productivity, length of biotransformation and total volume of substrate added to this reactor were 99 mg/L.h, 48.75 h and 35 mL, respectively whereas in the single phase benchmark reactor the performance indicators were only 31 mg/L.h, 15.25 h and 5 mL, respectively. These results clearly show the advantage of employing a partitioning bioreactor configuration for the biotechnological production of high value chemical species that exhibit cytotoxicity. / Thesis (Master, Chemical Engineering) -- Queen's University, 2008-01-24 10:20:09.589

Made available in DSpace on 2014-07-29T15:25:23Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Tese_Eula_Costa.pdf: 1234220 bytes, checksum: 9b0a765b29a3c24c4ab992c52d3cab65 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2009-03-25 / Considering the vast biotechnological applicability described for Beauveria bassiana, the versatility microbial biotransformation exhibits, the important biological activities attributed to the flavonoid quercetin, the therapeutic perspectives of its use, and the activity the enzyme quercetin 2,3-dioxygenase has on quercetin, we intended to evaluate quercetin biotransformation by B. bassiana ATCC 7159 and isolates of B. bassiana collected in the Midwestern Region of Brazil. The objectives of this study were: evaluate the potential of B. bassiana isolates and B. bassiana ATCC 7159 to produce metabolites of quercetin; investigate quercetin 2,3-dioxygenase production by the isolates and B. bassiana ATCC 7159; determine the genetic variability among the isolates of B. bassiana and establish possible correlations between molecular data and quercetin 2,3-dioxygenase production. All isolates and B. bassiana ATCC 7159 were capable of metabolizing quercetin and form compounds described in mammalian quercetin biotransformation studies and isolate IP 94 produced a higher number of metabolites compared with the others. B. bassiana ATCC 7159 and isolates IP 94, IP 98, IP 129, IP 147 produced methylated metabolites, while isolates IP 8, IP 11, and IP 94 produced glucuronidated metabolites. All the isolates produced sulphated metabolites and methylated and glucuronidated metabolites simultaneously and were capable to synthesize quercetin 2,3-dioxygenase. Quercetin 2,3-dioxygenase synthesis on PDSM, used in its biotransformation process was higher than on basic medium. B. bassiana ATCC 7159 and the isolates IP 11 and IP 132 presented the highest quercetin 2,3-dioxigenase activity, whereas the isolates IP 153 and IP 3a presented the lowest ones. Quercetin metabolites formation and quercetin 2,3-dioxygenase production were not correlated with the geographic origin of the isolates. Genetic variability analysis by RAPD allowed the separation of the isolates into three distinct groups and showed high genetic diversity among them; however, the RFLP-PCR of ITS region did not provide characteristic markers to differentiate the isolates. The ITS region sequencing confirmed the identity of the isolates as B. bassiana. The results obtained can lead to the following conclusions: B. bassiana constitutes an interesting alternative to the use of chemical methods and biological systems to produce quercetin metabolites, but is necessary to optimize the biotransformation process in order to obtain a more expressive amount of metabolites; B. bassiana is able to produce quercetin 2,3-dioxygenase, although more detailed studies are needed to explain its production pathway, regulation, and mechanism of action. / Considerando-se a vasta aplicabilidade biotecnológica descrita para Beauveria bassiana, a versatilidade que a biotransformação microbiana apresenta, as importantes atividades biológicas atribuídas ao flavonóide quercetina, as perspectivas quanto ao seu uso terapêutico e ainda a atividade da enzima quercetina 2,3-dioxigenase sobre a quercetina, pretendeu-se avaliar a metabolização da quercetina pela cepa B. bassiana ATCC 7159 e por isolados de B. bassiana obtidos na Região Centro-Oeste do Brasil. Os objetivos específicos do presente estudo foram: avaliar o potencial da cepa B. bassiana ATCC 7159 e dos isolados em produzir metabólitos da quercetina; investigar a produção de quercetina 2,3-dioxigenase pela cepa B. bassiana ATCC 7159 e pelos isolados; determinar a variabilidade genética entre os isolados de B. bassiana e estabelecer possíveis correlações entre dados moleculares e produção de quercetina 2,3-dioxigenase. Todos os isolados e a cepa B. bassiana ATCC 7159 foram capazes de metabolizar a quercetina formando compostos descritos nos estudos da metabolização deste flavonóide em mamíferos e o isolado IP 94 produziu um número maior de compostos quando comparado aos demais. B. bassiana ATCC 7159 e os isolados IP 94, IP 98, IP 129, IP 147 geraram metabólitos metilados, enquanto os isolados IP 8, IP 11 e IP 94 geraram metabólitos monoglicuronados. Todos os isolados estudados geraram metabólitos sulfatados e metabólitos metilados e glicuronados simultaneamente e foram capazes de sintetizar a enzima quercetina 2,3-dioxigenase. A síntese de quercetina 2,3-dioxigenase no meio de cultivo PDSM, utilizado para a biotransformação microbiana da quercetina, foi superior à obtida em meio mínimo. B. bassiana ATCC 7159 e os isolados IP 11 e IP 132 apresentaram maior atividade da quercetina 2,3-dioxigenase, enquanto os isolados IP 153 e IP 3a apresentaram as mais baixas. A formação dos metabólitos da quercetina e a produção de quercetina 2,3-dioxigenase não se relacionaram com a origem geográfica dos isolados. A análise da variabilidade genética por meio de RAPD permitiu dividir os isolados em três grupos distintos e mostrou elevada diversidade genética entre eles; porém, a análise por meio de RFLP-PCR da região ITS não permitiu diferenciar os isolados. A análise da sequência da região ITS confirmou a identidade dos fungos como B. bassiana. Os resultados obtidos permitiram concluir que: a biotransformação microbiana da quercetina por meio do fungo B. bassiana constitui alternativa ao uso de métodos químicos e sistemas biológicos para a produção de metabólitos da quercetina, sendo necessário otimizar o processo de biotransformação para a obtenção de quantidades expressivas dos metabólitos; B. bassiana é capaz de produzir a enzima extracelular quercetina 2,3-dioxigenase, sendo necessários estudos mais detalhados para elucidar sua via de produção, regulação e mecanismo de ação.