Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Viviana Urtuvia, Belen Ponce, Rodrigo Andler, Alvaro Diaz-Barrera
Summary: This study evaluated PHBV films with different 3-hydroxyvalerate (3HV) contents produced by Azotobacter vinelandii OP. The results showed that a higher 3HV content improved the thermomechanical properties of PHBV films, reduced the polymer melting point, and affected the tensile strength. Additionally, thermomechanical properties played an important role in biodegradation.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF BIOLOGICAL MACROMOLECULES
(2023)
Review
Microbiology
Cinthia Nunez, Liliana Lopez-Pliego, Carlos Leonel Ahumada-Manuel, Miguel Castaneda
Summary: Alginates are polymers made up of guluronate and mannuronate monomers. Different types of alginates have varying monomer content and molecular weight, which determine their rheological properties and applications. Alginates are commonly used in industries as additives that can change the viscosity, stability, emulsification, and gelling properties of aqueous solutions. In recent years, alginates have found specialized biomedical applications. Currently, alginates are produced from seaweed, which has highly variable composition and structure. To achieve precise composition and molecular weight for specialized applications, bacterial production systems such as Azotobacter vinelandii can be used.
FRONTIERS IN MICROBIOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Rodrigo Andler, Victoria Rojas, Valentina Pino, Ricardo I. Castro, Cristian Valdes, Vinay Kumar, Carlos Pena, Alvaro Diaz-Barrera
Summary: Fruit residues, particularly apple peel, were used as the carbon source to produce poly-3-hydroxybutyrate (P3HB) by Azotobacter vinelandii OP bacteria. Sulfuric acid and water were used to effectively convert the residues into sugars, with conversion rates of 65.4% and 58.3%, respectively. Shake-flask and bioreactor cultures with apple residues achieved P3HB production yields of up to 3.94 g L-1 and an accumulation rate of 67.3%w w-1. The obtained PHB had a melting point of 179.99℃ and a maximum degradation temperature of 274.64℃. This study demonstrates the potential of using easily hydrolysable fruit residues for sustainable P3HB production.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF BIOLOGICAL MACROMOLECULES
(2023)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Elsa Gomez-Hernandez, Holjes Salgado-Lugo, Daniel Segura, Andres Garcia, Alvaro Diaz-Barrera, Carlos Pena
Summary: The study aimed to evaluate the effect of oxygen transfer rate (OTR) on the molecular weight of Poly-3-hydroxybutyrate (P3HB). The results showed that manipulating oxygen transfer conditions could modulate the average molecular weight of P3HB, with strains grown at lower OTR conditions producing higher molecular weight P3HB.
APPLIED BIOCHEMISTRY AND BIOTECHNOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Minji Kim, Jiseon Kang, Seok Il Yun
Summary: Poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) (PHB)/poly(hydroxybutyrate-co-hydroxyvalerate) (PHBV) composite aerogel monoliths were prepared and treated with sodium alginate (ALG) to enhance their compressive modulus and adsorption capacity for water, soybean oil, and the cationic dye methylene blue (MB). The adsorption of MB was influenced by the ALG content, initial concentration, pH, and temperature, and followed pseudo-second-order kinetics. Ca2+-cross-linking of ALG increased compressive strength but decreased MB adsorption via pseudo-first-order kinetics, indicating a slower internal diffusion step due to the tightened network structure.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF BIOLOGICAL MACROMOLECULES
(2022)
Article
Polymer Science
Pei-Shze Mok, Jo-Ann Chuah, Nazalan Najimudin, Pauline-Woan-Ying Liew, Bor-Chyan Jong, Kumar Sudesh
Summary: The study revealed that the S-layer is the key factor affecting PHA biosynthesis by Azotobacter vinelandii. The PhaC of A. vinelandii shows specificity for short-chain-length PHA monomers and has the ability to polymerize 4HB, accumulating 4HB fractions in PHA.
Article
Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology
Angie Johanna Torres-Pedraza, Holjes Salgado-Lugo, Daniel Segura, Alvaro Diaz-Barrera, Carlos Pena
Summary: The study evaluated changes in PHBV composition by the PHB overproducing mutant OPNA of Azotobacter vinelandii under different conditions. Results showed that OTR significantly affected PHBV composition, with higher 3HV content achieved at higher OTRmax. Manipulating OTR could be a feasible strategy for producing PHBV copolymers with different monomeric compositions at an industrial level.
JOURNAL OF CHEMICAL TECHNOLOGY AND BIOTECHNOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Emerson F. C. Souza, Carl J. Rosen, Rodney T. Venterea
Summary: A study compared the effects of urease inhibitor, nitrification inhibitor, and nitrogen-fixing microbes on potato growth in irrigated soils, showing that nitrification inhibitors can reduce N2O emissions, and the combined use of nitrification and urease inhibitors can decrease N2O and NO3- losses while increasing nitrogen supply.
ENVIRONMENTAL POLLUTION
(2021)
Article
Polymer Science
Andrei A. Dudun, Elizaveta A. Akoulina, Vsevolod A. Zhuikov, Tatiana K. Makhina, Vera V. Voinova, Nikita V. Belishev, Dolgor D. Khaydapova, Konstantin V. Shaitan, Garina A. Bonartseva, Anton P. Bonartsev
Summary: This study investigated the effect of various cultivation conditions on alginate biosynthesis using Azotobacter vinelandii 12 and studied the physicochemical properties of the produced bacterial alginate. The study demonstrated the applicability of bacterial alginate for tissue engineering and showed that high molecular weight and high acetylation level alginate had low cytotoxicity.
Article
Polymer Science
Jin-Chuang Yang, Jun Yang, Tie-Ying Zhang, Xin-Jun Li, Xiao-Bing Lu, Ye Liu
Summary: The development of biodegradable and recyclable polymers has partially solved the problem of realizing a sustainable plastics economy. This study focuses on toughening poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) (P3HB), a highly crystalline thermoplastic material, by reducing its crystallinity through catalytic carbonylative terpolymerization with different enantiopure epoxides. The properties of the resulting PHA copolymers can range from viscous oil to tough/ductile and brittle plastics, depending on the structure and stereochemistry of the epoxides used.
Article
Polymer Science
Tao Zhang, Yunjae Jang, Eunhye Lee, Sooan Shin, Ho-Jong Kang
Summary: This study investigates the supercritical carbon dioxide foaming characteristics of the biodegradable polymer P(3HB-co-4HB) for environmentally friendly packaging materials. The effect of the 4HB composition on the foaming conditions, such as pressure and temperature, is studied, and the resulting foam density and expansion ratio are evaluated. Increasing the 4HB content reduces the crystallinity and tan delta value required for foam cell growth. Lower foaming temperatures are needed to maintain a suitable tan delta value. However, foaming is not possible when the 4HB content exceeds 50% due to a high tan delta value. Crystalline P(3HB-co-4HB) with low 4HB content results in lower foam density and higher expansion ratio compared to non-crystalline P(3HB-co-4HB) with high 4HB content. The addition of a chain extender slightly increases the expansion ratio by reducing crystallinity and tan delta, most effectively with a 4HB content of 16%.
Article
Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology
Viviana Urtuvia, Belen Ponce, Rodrigo Andler, Carlos Pena, Alvaro Diaz-Barrera
Summary: The production and composition of PHBV are influenced by the aeration rate. Higher aeration rates led to increased PHBV production but did not affect the 3HV fraction. The most suitable oxygen transfer rate for improving PHBV content, 3HV fraction, and volumetric productivity was found to be 24.9 mmol L-1 h(-1). This study provides insights into optimizing PHBV production for different biotechnological applications.
Article
Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology
Yue Ming, Guoqiang Li, Zhuangzhuang Shi, Xin Zhao, Yufei Zhao, Ge Gao, Ting Ma, Mengmeng Wu
Summary: An engineered Sphingomonas sanxanigenens strain was constructed to produce poly-beta-hydroxybutyrate (PHB) by blocking the biosynthetic pathway of exopolysaccharide. This strain could utilize low-cost substrates to produce PHB and showed increased yield when xylose was added. This study provided a new host strain and strategy for utilizing lignocellulosic biomass such as corn straw to produce PHB.
MICROBIAL CELL FACTORIES
(2023)
Review
Agricultural Engineering
Ranjna Sirohi, Vivek Kumar Gaur, Ashutosh Kumar Pandey, Sang Jun Sim, Sunil Kumar
Summary: Utilizing fruit waste for PHB production is an effective method, with pineapple and mixed fruit waste shown to be effective substrates. Future research should focus on the pre-processing of fruit waste and the impact of fermentation conditions on PHB production.
BIORESOURCE TECHNOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology
Soyoung Kim, Yong Jae Jang, Gyeongtaek Gong, Sun-Mi Lee, Youngsoon Um, Kyoung Heon Kim, Ja Kyong Ko
Summary: This study focused on engineering the carbon fixation metabolism to enhance CO2 utilization and increase PHB production in the hydrogen-oxidizing bacterium Cupriavidus necator H16. Overexpressing cbbR and regA resulted in positive phenotypes with increased biomass accumulation and PHB production, showing the potential for improving autotrophic cell growth and PHB accumulation by manipulating key transcriptional regulators.
MICROBIAL CELL FACTORIES
(2022)
Article
Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology
Karen Gomez-Pazarin, Celia Flores, Tania Castillo, Jochen Buchs, Enrique Galindo, Carlos Pena
JOURNAL OF CHEMICAL TECHNOLOGY AND BIOTECHNOLOGY
(2016)
Article
Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology
Modesto Millan, Miriam Salazar, Daniel Segura, Tania Castillo, Alvaro Diaz-Barrera, Carlos Pena
JOURNAL OF BIOTECHNOLOGY
(2017)
Article
Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology
Tania Castillo, Celia Flores, Daniel Segura, Guadalupe Espin, Jonathan Sanguino, Eliseo Cabrera, Jasmin Barreto, Alvaro Diaz-Barrera, Carlos Pena
JOURNAL OF CHEMICAL TECHNOLOGY AND BIOTECHNOLOGY
(2017)
Article
Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology
T. Castillo, I. Lopez, C. Flores, D. Segura, A. Garcia, E. Galindo, C. Pena
JOURNAL OF APPLIED MICROBIOLOGY
(2018)
Article
Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology
Andres Garcia, Pau Ferrer, Joan Albiol, Tania Castillo, Daniel Segura, Carlos Pena
MICROBIAL CELL FACTORIES
(2018)
Article
Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology
A. Garcia, D. Segura, G. Espin, E. Galindo, T. Castillo, C. Pena
BIOCHEMICAL ENGINEERING JOURNAL
(2014)
Article
Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology
Tania Castillo, Enrique Galindo, Carlos F. Pena
JOURNAL OF INDUSTRIAL MICROBIOLOGY & BIOTECHNOLOGY
(2013)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Tania Castillo, Elmar Heinzle, Susanne Peifer, Konstantin Schneider, Carlos F. Pena M
PROCESS BIOCHEMISTRY
(2013)
Review
Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology
C. Pena, T. Castillo, A. Garcia, M. Millan, D. Segura
MICROBIAL BIOTECHNOLOGY
(2014)
Article
Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology
Andres Garcia, Diana Perez, Manuel Castro, Viviana Urtuvia, Tania Castillo, Alvaro Diaz-Barrera, Guadalupe Espin, Carlos Pena
JOURNAL OF CHEMICAL TECHNOLOGY AND BIOTECHNOLOGY
(2019)
Article
Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology
Carlos Millan, Carlos Pena, Celia Flores, Guadalupe Espin, Enrique Galindo, Tania Castillo
WORLD JOURNAL OF MICROBIOLOGY & BIOTECHNOLOGY
(2020)
Article
Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology
Abraham Medina, Tania Castillo, Celia Flores, Cinthia Nunez, Enrique Galindo, Carlos Pena
Summary: This study evaluated the characteristics of alginate produced by strain AT9 under different oxygen transfer rates. The results showed that the molecular weight, acetylation degree, and viscosifying power of alginate can be controlled by manipulating the oxygen transfer rate.
JOURNAL OF CHEMICAL TECHNOLOGY AND BIOTECHNOLOGY
(2023)
Review
Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology
Tania Castillo, Andres Garcia, Claudio Padilla-Cordova, Alvaro Diaz-Barrera, Carlos Pena
ELECTRONIC JOURNAL OF BIOTECHNOLOGY
(2020)
Review
Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology
Luis Caspeta, Tania Castillo, Jens Nielsen
FRONTIERS IN BIOENGINEERING AND BIOTECHNOLOGY
(2015)