Electrofiltration as a purification strategy for microbial poly-(3-hydroxybutyrate).

The biodegradable polyester poly-(3-hydroxybutyrate) (PHB), produced by Ralstonia eutropha in batch and fed-batch processes, was purified by electrofiltration. The protein film on PHB granules determines their high negative zeta potential, enabling the application of electrofiltration as an integrated technology in the downstream processing of PHB. In order to determine the optimal purification parameters, various pressure and electric field strength conditions were tested. Electrofiltration of PHB at 4bars and 4V/mm provided an up to four times higher concentration factor than conventional filtration. FT-Raman spectroscopy demonstrated that electrofiltration did not result in structural changes to the products. The study demonstrates the efficiency and practical advantages of electrofiltration as a promising downstream step in the PHB production technology.

Metabolization of the bacteriostatic agent triclosan in edible plants and its consequences for plant uptake assessment.

Persistent environmental contaminants may enter agricultural fields via the application of sewage sludge, by irrigation with treated municipal wastewater or by manuring. It has been shown that such contaminants can be incorporated into crop plants. The metabolism of the bacteriostatic agents triclocarban, triclosan, and its transformation product methyl triclosan was investigated after their uptake into carrot cell cultures. A fast metabolization of triclosan was observed and eight so far unknown phase II metabolites, conjugates with saccharides, disaccharides, malonic acid, and sulfate, were identified by liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry. Triclocarban and methyl triclosan lack a phenolic group and remained unaltered in the cell cultures. Phase I metabolization was not observed for any of the compounds. All eight triclosan conjugates identified in the cell cultures were also detected in extracts of intact carrot plants cultivated on triclosan contaminated soils. Their total amount in the plants was assessed to exceed the amount of the triclosan itself by a factor of 5. This study shows that a disregard of conjugates in studies on plant uptake of environmental contaminants may severely underestimates the extent of uptake into plants and, eventually, the potential human exposure to contaminants via food of plant origin.

Filtration kinetics of chitosan separation by electrofiltration.

Downstream processing of chitosan requires several technological steps that contribute to the total production costs. Precipitation and especially evaporation are energy-consuming processes, resulting in higher costs and limiting industrial scale production. This study investigated the filtration kinetics of chitosan derived from cell walls of fungi and from exoskeletons of arthropods by electrofiltration, an alternative method, thus reducing the downstream processing steps and costs. Experiments with different voltages and pressures were conducted in order to demonstrate the effect of both parameters on filtration kinetics. The concentration of the biopolymer was obtained by the average factor of 40 by applying an electric field of 4 V/mm and pressure of 4 bars. A series of analytical experiments demonstrated the lack of structural and functional changes in chitosan molecules after electrofiltration. These results, combined with the reduction of energy and processing time, define the investigated method as a promising downstream step in the chitosan production technology.