title: Properties of hydrogel materials used for entrapment of microbial cells in production of fermented beverages.
abstract: Approaches using immobilized biological materials are very promising for application in different branches of the food industry, especially in the production of fermented beverages. Materials tested by our team for the process of entrapment belong to the family of charged polysaccharides able to form beaded hydrogels by ionotropic gelation (e.g. alginate, pectate, kappa-carrageenan) and synthetic polymers (e.g. polyvinyl alcohol) forming bead- and lens-shaped hydrogels by thermal sol/gel transition. Concentration of a gel, conditions and instrumentation of gelation process, bead and size distribution, porosity, diffusion properties, mechanical, storage and operational stability, and many other parameters were followed and optimized. Our work has been oriented especially to practical applications of immobilized cells. Brewing yeast cells were successfully immobilized by entrapment materials and used in a process of batch and continual production of beer, including primary and secondary fermentation of wort. Other applications include continual production of ethanol by fermentation of different saccharide substrates (molasses, glucose syrup, wheat hydrolysate), mead and non-alcoholic beverages production.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biochemical Technology, Faculty of Chemical and Food Technology, Slovak University of Technology, Bratislava, Slovak Republic. navratil@chelin.chtf.stuba.sk
authors.forename: Marián
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Navrátil
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Gemeiner
authors.forename: Jaroslav
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Klein
authors.forename: Ernest
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Sturdík
authors.forename: Anna
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Malovíková
authors.forename: Jozef
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Nahálka
authors.forename: Alica
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Vikartovská
authors.forename: Zoltán
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Dömény
authors.forename: Daniela
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Smogrovicová
mesh_terms: D001515:Beer / Q000382:microbiology; D001628:Beverages / Q000382:microbiology*; D018914:Cells, Immobilized; D000431:Ethanol / Q000378:metabolism; D005285:Fermentation; D005516:Food Microbiology; D005524:Food Technology / Q000295:instrumentation; D020100:Hydrogels; D010368:Pectins; D012441:Saccharomyces cerevisiae; D014574:Uronic Acids
chemical_list: D020100:Hydrogels; D014574:Uronic Acids; C018402:traumacel; D000431:Ethanol; D010368:Pectins; C003181:polygalacturonic acid