Chondroitin sulfate, hyaluronic acid and chitin/chitosan production using marine waste sources: characteristics, applications and eco-friendly processes: a review.

In the last decade, an increasing number of glycosaminoglycans (GAGs), chitin and chitosan applications have been reported. Their commercial demands have been extended to different markets, such as cosmetics, medicine, biotechnology, food and textiles. Marine wastes from fisheries and aquaculture are susceptible sources for polymers but optimized processes for their recovery and production must be developed to satisfy such necessities. In the present work, we have reviewed different alternatives reported in the literature to produce and purify chondroitin sulfate (CS), hyaluronic acid (HA) and chitin/chitosan (CH/CHs) with the aim of proposing environmentally friendly processes by combination of various microbial, chemical, enzymatic and membranes strategies and technologies.

Comparison of several mathematical models for describing the joint effect of temperature and ph on glucanex activity.

The aim of the present work was to evaluate with different statistical criteria the suitability of nine equations for describing and optimizing the simultaneous effect of temperature and pH on glucanex activity using two characteristic polysaccharides (curdlan and laminarin) as substrates. The most satisfactory solutions were found with an empirical equation constituted with parameters of practical interest (Rosso model), and a hybrid model between the Arrhenius equation and the mathematical expression generated by the protonation-hydroxylation mechanism (Tijskens model). The joint optimal values of pH and temperature calculated with the Rosso model were obtained at 4.64 and 50°C with curdlan and 4.64 and 48°C using laminarin as substrate.

Evaluation of toxic effects of several carboxylic acids on bacterial growth by toxicodynamic modelling.

BACKGROUND: Effects of organic acids on microbial fermentation are commonly tested in investigations about metabolic behaviour of bacteria. However, they typically provide only descriptive information without modelling the influence of acid concentrations on bacterial kinetics. RESULTS: We developed and applied a mathematical model (secondary model) to capture the toxicological effects of those chemicals on kinetic parameters that define the growth of bacteria in batch cultures. Thus, dose-response kinetics were performed with different bacteria (Leuconostoc mesenteroides, Carnobacterium pisicola, Escherichia coli, Bacillus subtilis and Listonella anguillarum) exposed at increasing concentrations of individual carboxylic acids (formic, acetic, propionic, butyric and lactic). In all bioassays the acids affected the maximum bacterial load (Xm) and the maximum growth rate (vm) but only in specific cases the lag phase (λ) was modified. Significance of the parameters was always high and in all fermentations the toxicodynamic equation was statistically consistent and had good predictability. The differences between D and L-lactic acid effects were significant for the growth of E. coli, L. mesenteroides and C. piscicola. In addition, a global parameter (EC50,τ) was used to compare toxic effects and provided a realistic characterization of antimicrobial agents using a single value. CONCLUSIONS: The effect of several organic acids on the growth of different bacteria was accurately studied and perfectly characterized by a bivariate equation which combines the basis of dose-response theory with microbial growth kinetics (secondary model). The toxicity of carboxylic acids was lower with the increase of the molecular weight of these chemicals.

Effects of three heavy metals on the bacteria growth kinetics: a bivariate model for toxicological assessment.

The effects of three heavy metals (Co, Ni and Cd) on the growth kinetics of five bacterial strains with different characteristics (Pseudomonas sp., Phaeobacter sp. strain 27-4, Listonella anguillarum, Carnobacterium piscicola and Leuconostoc mesenteroides subsp. lysis) were studied in a batch system. A bivariate model, function of time and dose, is proposed to describe simultaneously all the kinetic profiles obtained by incubating a microorganism at increasing concentrations of individual metals. This model combines the logistic equation for describing growth, with a modification of the cumulative Weibull's function for describing the dose-dependent variations of growth parameters. The comprehensive model thus obtained--which minimizes the effects of the experimental error--was statistically significant in all the studied cases, and it raises doubts about toxicological evaluations that are based on a single growth parameter, especially if it is not obtained from a kinetic equation. In lactic acid bacteria cultures (C. piscicola and L. mesenteroides), Cd induced remarkable differences in yield and time course of characteristic metabolites. A global parameter is defined (ED(50,τ): dose of toxic chemical that reduces the biomass of a culture by 50% compared to that produced by the control at the time corresponding to its semi maximum biomass) that allows comparing toxic effects on growth kinetics using a single value.

INTERACTIVE EFFECTS OF SALINITY AND TEMPERATURE ON PLANOZYGOTE AND CYST FORMATION OF ALEXANDRIUM MINUTUM (DINOPHYCEAE) IN CULTURE(1).

The factors regulating dinoflagellate life-cycle transitions are poorly understood. However, their identification is essential to unravel the causes promoting the outbreaks of harmful algal blooms (HABs) because these blooms are often associated with the formation and germination of sexual cysts. Nevertheless, there is a lack of knowledge on the factors regulating planozygote-cyst transitions in dinoflagellates due to the difficulties of differentiating planozygotes from vegetative stages. In the present study, two different approaches were used to clarify the relevance of environmental factors on planozygote and cyst formation of the toxic dinoflagellate Alexandrium minutum Halim. First, the effects of changes in initial phosphate (P) and nitrate (N) concentrations in the medium on the percentage of planozygotes formed were examined using flow cytometry. Second, two factorial designs were used to determine how salinity (S), temperature (T), and the density of the initial cell inoculum (I) affect planozygote and resting-cyst formation. These experiments led to the following conclusions: 1. Low P/N ratios seem to induce gamete expression because the percentage of planozygotes recorded in the absence of added phosphate (-P) was significantly higher than that obtained in the absence of added nitrogen (-N), or when the concentrations of both nitrogen and phosphate were 20 times lower (N/20 + P/20). 2. Salinity (S) and temperature (T) strongly affected both planozygote and cyst formation, as sexuality in the population increased significantly as salinity decreased and temperatures increased. S, T combinations that resulted in no significant cyst formation were, however, favorable for vegetative growth, ruling out the possibility of negative effects on cell physiology. 3. The initial cell density is thought to be important for sexual cyst formation by determining the chances of gamete contact. However, the inoculum concentrations tested did not explain either planozygote formation or the appearance of resting cysts.

Mathematical model for the characterization and objective comparison of antioxidant activities.

The available data about the interference of antioxidants in the kinetics of lipid oxidation are abundant, but often they allow only semiquantitative conclusions, not always with sufficient basis. One of the causes of this problem is the absence of formal models able to guide the experimental design and to calculate characterizing parameters. In this regard, the model which we propose allows us to obtain the simultaneous solution of a series of oxidation kinetics in the presence of any number of antioxidant concentrations. It describes satisfactorily simulations in which substrate and antioxidant compete for oxygen in a second order kinetic scheme, as well as experimental results from other authors, in different systems and under different conditions. Its application is simple, it provides parametric estimates which characterize both the oxidative process and the antioxidant activity, and it facilitates rigorous comparisons among the effects of different compounds and experimental approaches. In all experimental data tested, the calculated parameters were always statistically significant (Student's t test, alpha = 0.05), the equations were consistent (Fisher's F-test), and the goodness of fit parameters (adj r(2), adjusted coefficients of multiple determination) were up to 0.97.

Recovery of proteolytic and collagenolytic activities from viscera by-products of rayfish (Raja clavata).

The aim of this work was to study the recovery of proteolytic and collagenolytic activities from rayfish (Raja clavata) viscera wastes. Initially, different parts of the gastrointestinal tract by-products (stomach, duodenum section including pancreas, final intestine) were evaluated. The extracts from proximal intestine yielded the highest values of both enzymatic activities. Optimal conditions for protease activity quantification were established at pH = 6, T = 40 degrees C and incubation time < or =20 min. The mathematical equation used to model the joint effect of pH and temperature led to maximum activity at pH = 8.66 and 59.4 degrees C, respectively. Overcooled acetone was found to be best option for recovery of enzymatic activities in comparison with ethanol, PEG-4000, ammonium sulphate and ultrafiltration system. Finally, a simple and systematic protocol of partial purification and total recovery of proteases and collagenases was defined.

Alcoholic chestnut fermentation in mixed culture. Compatibility criteria between Aspergillus oryzae and Saccharomyces cerevisiae strains.

The main objective of the present work consisted in the transfer to the case of the chestnut of a rice fermentative process that carried out to the Japanese traditional way to lead to an alcoholic bagasse, the moromi, capable of obtaining distilled. This way, selection assays of amylolitic Aspergillus oryzae strains and studies of compatibility between microfungi and yeast were carried out. These mixed cultivations were performed operating in batch submerged culture. Later on, using solid state system (chestnut, microfungi, yeast), a fermentative fed-batch process (koji, moto, moromi) was defined. By means of this approach a yield of 70% was reached in the conversion of total carbohydrates in ethanol. Also, the time required by the traditional operation was reduced in half.

Two mathematical models for the correction of carbohydrate and protein interference in the determination of uronic acids by the m-hydroxydiphenyl method.

The most common method in the routine determination of uronic acids, the m-hydroxydiphenyl reaction, recently adapted to rapid microplate analysis, has as a main inconvenience, in any one of their modalities, interferences due to the frequent presence of proteins and neutral carbohydrates in the samples. Corresponding corrections in the literature are unsatisfactory when applied to complex matrices, and further adaptation to the microplate analysis is not free from additional problems. With particular reference to hyaluronic acid, the interactions between the principal reactants and the interfering materials are studied kinetically under realistic conditions, and simple mathematical models are proposed which satisfactorily describe the experimental results and allow adequate corrections to be made.