title: Biodegradation of p-cresol by immobilized cells of Bacillus sp. strain PHN 1.
abstract: The Bacillus sp. strain PHN 1 capable of degrading p-cresol was immobilized in various matrices namely, polyurethane foam (PUF), polyacrylamide, alginate and agar. The degradation rates of 20 and 40 mM p-cresol by the freely suspended cells and immobilized cells in batches and semi-continuous with shaken cultures were compared. The PUF-immobilized cells achieved higher degradation of 20 and 40 mM p-cresol than freely suspended cells and the cells immobilized in polyacrylamide, alginate and agar. The PUF- immobilized cells could be reused for more than 35 cycles, without losing any degradation capacity and showed more tolerance to pH and temperature changes than free cells. These results revealed that the immobilized cell systems are more efficient than freely suspended cells for degradation of p-cresol.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biochemistry, Karnataka University, Dharwad, Karnataka, India.
authors.forename: P N
authors.initials: PN
authors.lastname: Tallur
authors.forename: V B
authors.initials: VB
authors.lastname: Megadi
authors.forename: H Z
authors.initials: HZ
authors.lastname: Ninnekar
mesh_terms: D001407:Bacillus / Q000378:metabolism*; D001673:Biodegradation, Environmental; D018914:Cells, Immobilized / Q000378:metabolism*; D003408:Cresols / Q000378:metabolism*; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D003408:Cresols; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical; C032538:4-cresol