Current Biotechnology - Volume 1, Issue 3, 2012

Aspartase (L-aspartate ammonia-lyase; EC 4.3.1.1) catalyzes the reversible amination of fumaric acid to produce L-aspartic acid. Aspartase producing bacterial strains were isolated from the effluent of a fertilizer industry. The effluent was alkaline in nature and rich in nitrogenous contents. Aspartase producing bacterial strains were isolated by enrichment technique. Screening of isolated strains for aspartase activi Read More

Biotransformation of (-)-α-santonin using Aspergillus parasiticus resulted in the production of 3,4-epoxy-α-santonin, 4,5-dihydro-α-santonin and 1,2-dihydro-α-santonin and 3 minor products and the biological activity of the transformed products was established by antibacterial & antifungal assays. 3,4-epoxy-α-santonin exhibited higher degree of antibacterial and antifungal activity. 4,5-dihydro-α-santonin showed slight incre Read More

This paper deals with the complex problem of modeling of water UVc disinfection, and it aimed to improve the performances of this multipart process. The UV disinfection should inactivate pathogenic microorganisms and improve the hygienic quality of water. A comprehensive treatment in considering the mathematical aspect to model the UVc disinfection of water was achieved. A complete mathematical description of th Read More

The use of Henna wood as a raw material to produce activated carbon by physical activation was investigated. The activated carbons produced were characterized by Nitrogen adsorption isotherms and point of zero charge (pHPZC) properties. BET (Brunauer, Emmett and Teller) surface area of the activated carbon was determined as 584 m2/g. The removal of Basagran from aqueous solutions by adsorption on activated carb Read More

Hydrogen production involves the use of hydrogenase (H2ase) enzyme, especially for photohydrogen production. Specific detection of fermentative hydrogen producing bacteria from the microbial communities is achieved based on the universal Iron-hydA primers. In the present study, the primers for the H2ase gene were designed, followed by the isolation of the DNA from the selected hydrogen producing microorganisms. Read More

An efficient protocol for plant regeneration from protoplasts in Catharanthus roseus is reported. Hypocotylderived embryogenic callus was used as a source of protoplasts. The embryogenic suspension was established in liquid MS, added with 1.0 mg l-1 NAA and 1.0 mg l-1 BAP; and then suspension was treated with various enzymatic solutions either alone or in combinations. The cocktail of cellulase (2.0%), pectinase (1.0 Read More

Due to rapid expansion of biodiesel production, the quantity of crude glycerol on the global market has been surging. One marine microalga, Schizochytrium limacinum SR21 has great capability in transforming crude glycerol to intracellular lipids, especially docosahexaenoic acid (DHA). To elucidate the mechanisms involved in glycerol uptake and conversion, the proteomic profiles of cells grown on either glycerol or glucose Read More

The enzymatic esterification of n-propanol with cinnamic acid was carried out with a commercial lipase (Lipolase 100T) immobilized onto silica. The silica pretreated with 1% (v/v) glutaraldehyde showed 95% protein binding efficiency. Esterification reactions were carried out at 45oC under shaking (160 rpm) with 75 mM: 100 mM of cinnamic acid and n-propanol, respectively in DMSO. The maximum yield of n-propyl cinnam Read More

Lipase catalysis plays a vital role in the synthesis of a variety of compounds of commercial value in food, pharmaceutical as well as in detergent industry. In the present study a commercial lipase, Lipolase T20 was immobilized onto natural fibers of dried coconut fruit by incubating the fiber's bunch in the enzyme solution for 12 h at 8oC. The fiberbound lipase was thereafter treated with 2% (v/v) glutaraldehyde. The fiber-imm Read More

Insects, mites, fungi, viruses, and bacteria often cause extensive damage to agriculture. So, there is a need of insecticides, fungicides, antibiotics for use on animal and plant productions. Generally, synthetic substances are utilized as the main control methods. However, the increased residual toxic of these substances in food and the occurrence of resistance by agents have been a serious problem to be solved. As natural subst Read More

Nutrigenomics studies the impact of nutrients on genome and response of individual genetic makeup to diet. On the other hand nutrigenetics studies the impact of nutrient on a single gene. Some single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) are determinants of individual requirement of nutrients but some others may be responsible for causing diseases. System biology approach is mainly used in nutrigenomics whereas i Read More