Novel method for cell immobilization and its application for production of organic acid.
OBJECTIVE
The aim was to develop a novel and simple technique for the entrapment of fungal hyphae.


RESULTS
A novel immobilization technique was developed by using a structural fibrous network (SFN) of papaya wood as an immobilizing matrix. The technique is simple and a stable entrapment was achieved simply by inoculating the Aspergillus terreus hyphae within culture medium containing SFN pieces for 3 days, without any prior chemical treatment. Results show that SFN has no detrimental effect both on growth and bioactivity of fungi. A 23.5% increase in the itaconic acid production by SFN-immobilized A. terreus was noted when compared with free biomass. SFN-immobilized fungal biomass retained 95% itaconic acid productivity for five repeated batch cycles, 7 days each, without any disintegration/release of hyphae in the production medium.


CONCLUSIONS
This is the first report on the use of SFN, a structural material, as an immobilizing matrix for the entrapment of any kind of microbial biomass and its application in organic acid.


CONCLUSIONS
The low cost of SFN and simplicity of the technique applied for immobilization of fungal hyphae within/onto SFN make its use ideal for the immobilization of fungal biomass to produce commercially valuable products.
Iqbal
M
M
Biotechnology and Food Research Centre, PCSIR Laboratories Complex, Lahore, Pakistan. iqbalmdr@brain.net.pk
Saeed
A
A
D001230:Aspergillus / Q000378:metabolism; D029441:Carica / Q000737:chemistry; D018914:Cells, Immobilized / Q000378:metabolism; D025301:Hyphae / Q000378:metabolism*; D007218:Industrial Microbiology / Q000379:methods*; D018547:Plant Stems / Q000737:chemistry; D013386:Succinates / Q000032:analysis / Q000378:metabolism*; D014866:Waste Products; D014934:Wood
D013386:Succinates; D014866:Waste Products; C005229:itaconic acid