Production of biofuels from pretreated microalgae biomass by anaerobic fermentation with immobilized Clostridium acetobutylicum cells.

The purpose of this work was to study the possible use of pretreated biomass of various microalgae and cyanobacteria as substrates for acetone-butanol-ethanol (ABE) fermentation by Clostridium acetobutylicum cells immobilized into poly(vinyl alcohol) cryogel. To this end, the biochemical composition of photosynthetic microorganisms cultivated under various conditions was studied. The most efficient technique for pretreating microalgal biomass for its subsequent conversion into biofuels appeared to be thermal decomposition at 108 °C. For the first time the maximum productivity of the ABE fermentation in terms of hydrogen (8.5 mmol/L medium/day) was obtained using pretreated biomass of Nannochloropsis sp. Maximum yields of butanol and ethanol were observed with Arthrospira platensis biomass used as the substrate. Immobilized Clostridium cells were demonstrated to be suitable for multiple reuses (for a minimum of five cycles) in ABE fermentation for producing biofuels from pretreated microalgal biomass.

[Determination of minimal concentrations of biocorrosion inhibitors by a bioluminescence method in relation to bacteria, participating in biocorrosion].

By using a bioluminescence ATP assay, we have determined the minimal concentrations of some biocorrosion inhibitors (Katon, Khazar, VFIKS-82, Nitro-1, Kaspii-2, and Kaspii-4) suppressing most common microbial corrosion agents: Desulfovibrio desulfuricans, Desulfovibrio vulgaris, Pseudomonas putida, Pseudomonas fluorescens, and Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans. The cell titers determined by the bioluminescence method, including not only dividing cells but also their dormant living counterparts, are two- to sixfold greater than the values determined microbiologically. It is shown that the bioluminescence method can be applied to determination of cell titers in samples of oil-field waters in the presence of iron ions (up to 260 mM) and iron sulfide (to 186 mg/l) and in the absence or presence of biocidal corrosion inhibitors.

Bioluminescence of free and poly(vinyl alcohol) cryogel-entrapped recombinant Escherichia coli cells expressing firefly luciferase.

Bioluminescence of free and poly(vinyl alcohol) cryogel-entrapped recombinant E. coli cells expressing firefly luciferase was investigated. It was shown that bioluminescence intensity and time-course of the bioluminescent signal changed upon immobilization and depended on intracellular ATP concentration and permeability of the cell membrane.

A biosensor for L-proline determination by use of immobilized microbial cells.

A biosensor to quantify L-proline within 10(-5)-10(-3) mole/L concentration is described. Immobilized Pseudomonas sp. cells grown in a medium containing L-proline as the only source of carbon and nitrogen were used to create the biosensor. The cells oxidized L-proline specifically consuming O2 and did not react with other amino acids and sugars. The change in oxygen concentration was detected with a Clark oxygen membrane electrode. The cells were immobilized by entrapment in polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) cryogel. The resultant biocatalyst had a high mechanical strength and retained its L-proline-oxidizing ability for at least two months.

[Bioluminescent method of determining picomolar amounts of nicotinamide-adenine dinucleotide using an immobilized extract of the luminescent bacterium Beneckea harveyi]. / Bioliuminestsentyi metod opredeleniia nikotinamidadenindinukleotida s pomoshch'iu svetiashchikhsia bakterii Beneckea harveyi.

The luminous bacteria Beneckea Harveyi were immobilized on BrCN-sepharose and cellulose films activated with cyanuric chloride. Preparations with high luciferase and FMN-reductase activities were obtained, which showed no background luminescence without NADH being added. The storage conditions for the preparations obtained were optimized, and their kinetic parameters and thermostability were studied. Standard curves for NADH determining within the concentration range 1 nM-1 microM were plotted with the detection level of 1 picomol NADH. The preparations are very promising for bioluminescent assay due to their high activity, simple production, high stability during storage and a possibility for the repeated use.

[Changes in mitochondrial heterogenicity during aerobic growth of Saccharomyces cerevisiae yeasts]. / Izmenenie geterogennosti mitokhondrii pri aérobnom roste drozhzhei Saccharomyces cerevisiae

Distribution of the activities of some mitochondrial enzymes after sucrose density gradient ultracentrifugation of cell homogenates of S. cerevisiae in the early and late exponential growth phases is studied. It is demonstrated that young yeast cells have a characteristic complex distribution of NADH oxidase (cyanide-sensitive), succinate:ferricyanide-oxidoreductase (or succinate:2,6-dichlorophenol indophenol-oxidoreductase), NADH:2,6-dichlorophenol indophenol-oxidoreductase and cytochrome oxidase activities in sucrose density gradient; the distribution patterns of these activities are different. All the above activities are detected in a single relatively narrow band in mature yeast cells. Similar results are obtained in the experiments with glucose or galactose as a carbon source in the yeast growth media. The Arrhenius plots for NADH oxidase (as well as for succinate:2,6-dichlorophenol indophenol-oxidoreductase) activity do not differ in the case of "light" and "heavy" mitochondrial structures characteristic of yeast cells in the early exponential growth phase. Nevertheless, "light" and "heavy" mitochondrial structures differ with respect of the arrangement of certain respiratory chain components in their membranes NADH-dehydrogenase and cytochrome oxidase). This conclusion is drawn from the results obtained in the study of the interaction of the two types of structures with Fe(CN)6(3-), a non-penetrating ion and the antiserum to yeast mitochondria.