Fabrication and characterization of dual acting oleyl chitosan functionalised iron oxide/gold hybrid nanoparticles for MRI and CT imaging.

Bionanocomposites fabricated using metal nanoparticles serve a wide range of biomedical applications viz., site targeted drug delivery, imaging etc. Theranostics emerge as an important field of science, which focuses on the use of single entity for both disease diagnosis and treatment.

Alkaline Protease Production from Brevibacterium luteolum (MTCC 5982) Under Solid-State Fermentation and Its Application for Sulfide-Free Unhairing of Cowhides.

Enzyme-based unhairing in replacement of conventional lime sulfide system has been attempted as an alternative for tackling pollution. The exorbitant cost of enzyme and the need for stringent process control need to be addressed yet. This study developed a mechanism for regulated release of protease from cheaper agro-wastes, which overcomes the necessity for stringent process control along with total cost reduction.

Utilization of fish meal and fish oil for production of Cryptococcus sp. MTCC 5455 lipase and hydrolysis of polyurethane thereof.

Fish meal has been used as an additional nitrogen source and fish oil as inducer for the growth and production of lipase from Cryptococcus sp. MTCC 5455. A response surface design illustrated that the optimum factors influencing lipase production were fish meal, 1.

Potentiometric biosensor for determination of urea in milk using immobilized Arthrobacter creatinolyticus urease.

The extracellular urease from Arthrobacter creatinolyticus was partially purified by ammonium sulfate precipitation and immobilized on PAN [poly(acrylonitrile-methylmethacrylate-sodium vinylsulfonate)] membrane. The urease immobilized PAN membrane exhibited an activity of 97.92U/cm(2) under the optimum conditions of 1.

Screening and production of a potent extracellular Arthrobacter creatinolyticus urease for determination of heavy metal ions.

This paper describes the isolation of a potent extracellular urease producing microorganism, identified by 16S rRNA as Arthrobacter creatinolyticus MTCC 5604 and its medium optimization by classical one-factor-at-a-time method and central composite rotatable design (CCRD), a tool of response surface methodology (RSM). An optimal activity of 9.0 U ml(-1) was obtained by classical method and statistical optimization of the medium resulted in an activity of 17.

Scale-up of an alkaline protease from Bacillus pumilus MTCC 7514 utilizing fish meal as a sole source of nutrients.

Fish meal grades SL1 and SL2 from Sardine (Sardinella longiceps) and NJ from Pink Perch (Nemipterus japonicas) were evaluated as a sole source of carbon and nitrogen in the medium for alkaline protease production by Bacillus pumilus MTCC 7514. The analysis of the fish meal suggests that the carbon and nitrogen contents in fish meal are sufficient to justify its choice as replacement for other nutrients. Protease production increased significantly (4,914 U/ml) in medium containing only fish meal, compared with the basal medium (2,646 U/ml).

Techno-economic analysis of processes for Aspergillus carbonarius polygalacturonase production.

A techno-economic analysis of submerged (SmF) and solid state fermentation (SSF) processes for Aspergillus carbonarius polygalacturonase production was performed to make an appropriate process selection. The downstream processing involved integrated membrane process (IMP) and alginate affinity precipitation (AAP). For a production scale of 30kL purified polygalacturonase concentrate per year, the total upstream cost of SmF was 14% lower than the SSF process.

Enzymatic treatment to improve the quality of black tea extracts.

Enzymatic extraction was investigated to improve the quality of black tea extracts with pretreatment of pectinase and tannase independently, successively and simultaneously. Pectinase improved the extractable-solids-yield (ESY) up to 11.5%, without much of an improvement in polyphenols recovery, while tannase pre-treatment showed a significant improvement in polyphenols recovery (14.

Scale up of a novel tri-substrate fermentation for enhanced production of Aspergillus niger lipase for tallow hydrolysis.

A novel tri-substrate fermentation (TSF) process was developed for the production of lipase from Aspergillus niger MTCC 2594 using agro-industrial residues, wheat bran (WB), coconut oil cake (COC) and an agro-product, wheat rawa (WR). The lipase activity was 628.7+/-13 U/g dry substrate (U/gds) at 30 degrees C and 96 h and growth studies indicated that addition of WR significantly augmented the biomass and lipase production.

Corn steep liquor as a nutrition adjunct for the production of Aspergillus niger lipase and hydrolysis of oils thereof.

Corn steep liquor (CSL) has been used as a nutrition adjunct for the production of an extracellular lipase from Aspergillus niger, which has immense importance as an additive in laundry detergent formulations. A five-level four-factorial central composite design was chosen to determine the optimal medium components with four critical variables, namely, CSL, NH4H2PO4, Na2HPO4, and sesame oil, that were found to be influential for lipase production by the classical one-factor-at-a-time method. The model suggested that all of the factors chosen had a significant impact on lipase production, and the optimum values of the influential parameters were CSL, 2.

Interaction of transport resistances with biochemical reaction in packed-bed solid-state fermentors: effect of temperature gradients.

In solid-state fermentation, the interaction of transport phenomena with biochemical reactions has a considerable effect on the productivity of the bioreactor. Previous work on solid-state fermentation in tray fermentors in our laboratory indicated that heat transfer resistance results in steep temperature gradients within the solid substrate bed, which in turn adversely affect the biochemical reaction and enzyme activity. This problem of heat accumulation during the course of fermentation has been alleviated to a considerable extent using a packed-column bioreactor with forced aeration in the present work.

Gas concentration and temperature gradients in a packed bed solid-state fermentor.

In solid-state fermentation (SSF), interaction of heat and mass transfer with biochemical reaction (growth associated enzyme production) affects the bioreactor performance. This interaction was earlier observed to cause temperature and gaseous concentration gradients which reduced the effective bed height of the bioreactor. Since forced aeration is known to alleviate this problem, a packed column bioreactor with forced aeration was employed in the present study.

Interaction of transport resistances with biochemical reaction in packed bed solid state fermenters: the effect of gaseous concentration gradients.

Mass transfer plays an important role in solid state fermentation (SSF) systems. Earlier work on SSF in tray bioreactors indicated that steep gaseous concentration gradients developed within the substrate bed, owing to mass transfer resistances, which may adversely affect the bioreactor performance. For all practical purposes these gradients have been eliminated using a packed bed column bioreactor with forced aeration.