Reversibly Crosslinked Polyurethane Fibres from Sugar-Based 5-Chloromethylfurfural: Synthesis, Fibre-Spinning and Fibre-to-Fibre Recycling.

The development of recyclable crosslinked thermosetting fibres is a challenging research topic. In the present work, we have designed and synthesized polyurethane fibres from fructose-derived 5-chloromethylfurfural (CMF) and lignin-derived monomeric phenols. The greenhouse gas emissions associated with the production of CMF showed comparable results to that of 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF), a high potential sugar-based platform molecule.

Enhancing metabolic efficiency via novel constitutive promoters to produce protocatechuic acid in Escherichia coli.

The antioxidant molecule protocatechuic acid (PCA) can also serve as a precursor for polymer building blocks. PCA can be produced in Escherichia coli overexpressing 3-dehydroshikimate dehydratase (DSD), an enzyme that catalyses the transformation of 3-dehydroshikimate to PCA. Nevertheless, optimizing the expression rate of recombinant enzymes is a key factor in metabolic engineering when producing biobased chemicals.

High cell density sequential batch fermentation for enhanced propionic acid production from glucose and glycerol/glucose mixture using Acidipropionibacterium acidipropionici.

Background: Propionic acid fermentation from renewable feedstock suffers from low volumetric productivity and final product concentration, which limits the industrial feasibility of the microbial route. High cell density fermentation techniques overcome these limitations. Here, propionic acid (PA) production from glucose and a crude glycerol/glucose mixture was evaluated using Acidipropionibacterium acidipropionici, in high cell density (HCD) batch fermentations with cell recycle.

Carboligation of 5-(hydroxymethyl)furfural via whole-cell catalysis to form C12 furan derivatives and their use for hydrazone formation.

Background: Biobased 5-(hydroxymethyl)furfural (5-HMF) is an important platform that offers numerous possibilities for upgrading to a range of chemical, material and fuel products. One reaction of special interest is the carboligation of 5-HMF into C compounds, including 5,5'-bis(hydroxymethyl)furoin (DHMF) and its subsequent oxidation to 5,5'-bis(hydroxymethyl)furil (BHMF), due to their potential applications as building blocks for polymers and hydrocarbon fuels.

Objectives: This study was aimed at evaluating the use of whole cells of Escherichia coli carrying recombinant Pseudomonas fluorescens benzaldehyde lyase as biocatalysts for 5-HMF carboligation, recovery of the C derivatives DHMF and BHMF, and testing the reactivity of the carbonyl groups for hydrazone formation for potential use as cross-linking agents in surface coatings.

Membrane-based continuous fermentation with cell recycling for propionic acid production from glycerol by Acidipropionibacterium acidipropionici.

Background: Microbial production of propionic acid (PA) from renewable resources is limited by the slow growth of the producer bacteria and product-mediated inhibition. The present study evaluates high cell density continuous PA fermentation from glycerol (Gly) using Acidipropionibacterium acidipropionici DSM 4900 in a membrane-based cell recycling system. A ceramic tubular membrane filter of 0.

A facile process for adipic acid production in high yield by oxidation of 1,6-hexanediol using the resting cells of Gluconobacter oxydans.

Background: Adipic acid (AA) is one of the most important industrial chemicals used mainly for the production of Nylon 6,6 but also for making polyurethanes, plasticizers, and unsaturated polyester resins, and more recently as a component in the biodegradable polyester poly(butylene adipate terephthalate) (PBAT). The main route for AA production utilizes benzene as feedstock and generates copious amounts of the greenhouse gas NO. Hence, alternative clean production routes for AA from renewable bio-based feedstock are drawing increasing attention.

Reviewing a plethora of oxidative-type reactions catalyzed by whole cells of species.

Selective oxidation reactions represent a challenging task for conventional organic chemistry. Whole-cell biocatalysis provides a very convenient, easy to apply method to carry out different selective oxidation reactions including chemo-, regio-, and enantio-selective reactions. species are important biocatalysts as they can catalyze these selective reactions very efficiently owing to the wide diversity of enzymes and enzymatic cascades in their cell niche.

Oxidation of 5-hydroxymethylfurfural with a novel aryl alcohol oxidase from Mycobacterium sp. MS1601.

Bio-based 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) serves as an important platform for several chemicals, among which 2,5-furan dicarboxylic acid (FDCA) has attracted considerable interest as a monomer for the production of polyethylene furanoate (PEF), a potential alternative for fossil-based polyethylene terephthalate (PET). This study is based on the HMF oxidizing activity shown by Mycobacterium sp. MS 1601 cells and investigation of the enzyme catalysing the oxidation.

Polyhydroxyalkanoate production from rice straw hydrolysate obtained by alkaline pretreatment and enzymatic hydrolysis using Bacillus strains isolated from decomposing straw.

Rice straw is an important low-cost feedstock for bio-based economy. This report presents a study in which rice straw was used both as a source for isolation of bacteria producing the biodegradable polyester polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA), as well as the carbon source for the production of the polymer by the isolated bacteria. Of the 100 bacterial isolates, seven were found to be positive for PHA production by Nile blue staining and were identified as Bacillus species by 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis.

Enhanced Protocatechuic Acid Production From Glucose Using 3-Dehydroshikimate Dehydratase Expressed in a Phenylalanine-Overproducing Mutant of .

Protocatechuic acid (PCA) is a strong antioxidant and is also a potential platform for polymer building blocks like vanillic acid, vanillin, muconic acid, and adipic acid. This report presents a study on PCA production from glucose via the shikimate pathway precursor 3-dehydroshikimate by heterologous expression of a gene encoding 3-dehydroshikimate dehydratase in . The phenylalanine overproducing strain, engineered to relieve the allosteric inhibition of 3-deoxy-7-phosphoheptulonate synthase by the aromatic amino acids, was shown to give a higher yield of PCA than the unmodified strain under aerobic conditions.

Metabolic potential of the moderate halophile Yangia sp. ND199 for co-production of polyhydroxyalkanoates and exopolysaccharides.

Yangia sp. ND199 is a moderately halophilic bacterium isolated from mangrove samples in Northern Vietnam, which was earlier reported to grow on several sugars and glycerol to accumulate poly(hydroxyalkanoates) (PHA). In this study, the potential of the bacterium for co-production of exopolysaccharides (EPS) and PHA was investigated.

Clean Production of Levulinic Acid from Fructose and Glucose in Salt Water by Heterogeneous Catalytic Dehydration.

Levulinic acid (LA) is considered to be one of the promising organic bio-platform chemicals and intermediates for the synthesis of fuels, chemicals, and polymers. In the present study, heterogeneous catalytic dehydration of hexose sugars, fructose and glucose, using a strong cation exchange resin (hydrogen form) as an acid catalyst, was performed to produce LA in an aqueous medium. The effect of salts such as NaCl, KCl, CaCl, NaCO, and NaSO in the medium on the rate of sugar conversion and LA yield was evaluated.

Omics for Bioprospecting and Drug Discovery from Bacteria and Microalgae.

"Omics" represent a combinatorial approach to high-throughput analysis of biological entities for various purposes. It broadly encompasses genomics, transcriptomics, proteomics, lipidomics, and metabolomics. Bacteria and microalgae exhibit a wide range of genetic, biochemical and concomitantly, physiological variations owing to their exposure to biotic and abiotic dynamics in their ecosystem conditions.

Exploring the Enzymatic and Antibacterial Activities of Novel Mycobacteriophage Lysin B Enzymes.

Mycobacteriophages possess different sets of lytic enzymes for disruption of the complex cell envelope of the mycobacteria host cells and release of the viral progeny. Lysin B (LysB) enzymes are mycolylarabinogalactan esterases that cleave the ester bond between the arabinogalactan and mycolic acids in the mycolylarabinogalactan-peptidoglycan (mAGP) complex in the cell envelope of mycobacteria. In the present study, four LysB enzymes were produced recombinantly and characterized with respect to their enzymatic and antibacterial activities.

Comparative Structural Analysis of Different Mycobacteriophage-Derived Mycolylarabinogalactan Esterases (Lysin B).

Mycobacteriophage endolysins have emerged as a potential alternative to the current antimycobacterial agents. This study focuses on mycolylarabinogalactan hydrolase (LysB) enzymes of the α/β-hydrolase family, which disrupt the unique mycolic acid layer of mycobacterium cell wall. Multiple sequence alignment and structural analysis studies showed LysB-D29, the only enzyme with a solved three-dimensional structure, to share several common features with esterases (lacking lid domain) and lipases (acting on long chain lipids).

Stress induced biofilm formation in Propionibacterium acidipropionici and use in propionic acid production.

Propionibacterium acidipropionici produces propionic acid from different sugars and glycerol; the production can be improved by high cell density fermentations using immobilized cells that help to overcome the limitations of the non-productive lag phase and product inhibition. In this study, the use of stress factors to induce P. acidipropionici to form biofilm and its use as an immobilization procedure in fermentations in bioreactors for producing propionic acid was investigated.

Designing Biobased Recyclable Polymers for Plastics.

Several concurrent developments are shaping the future of plastics. A transition to a sustainable plastics system requires not only a shift to fossil-free feedstock and energy to produce the carbon-neutral building blocks for polymers used in plastics, but also a rational design of the polymers with both desired material properties for functionality and features facilitating their recyclability. Biotechnology has an important role in producing polymer building blocks from renewable feedstocks, and also shows potential for recycling of polymers.

Lactobacillus reuteri NAD(P)H oxidase: Properties and coexpression with propanediol-utilization enzymes for enhancing 3-hydroxypropionic acid production from 3-hydroxypropionaldehyde.

Lactobacillus reuteri metabolizes glycerol through propanediol-utilization (Pdu) pathway to 1,3-propanediol (1,3-PD) via 3-hydroxypropionaldehyde (3-HPA) as intermediate. In the resting cells, the oxidized co-factor obtained in the reaction is regenerated by simultaneous oxidation of 3-HPA to 3-hydroxypropionic acid (3-HP) using propionaldehyde dehydrogenase (PduP), phosphotransacylase (PduL) and propionate kinase (PduW). We have earlier shown that the use of resting cells of recombinant Escherichia coli expressing the oxidative pathway gives the highest theoretical yield of 1 mol 3-HP per mol 3-HPA but is limited by cofactor depletion.

Hydrogen and polyhydroxybutyrate production from wheat straw hydrolysate using Caldicellulosiruptor species and Ralstonia eutropha in a coupled process.

This report presents an integrated biorefinery concept in which wheat straw hydrolysate was treated with co-cultures of osmotolerant thermophilic bacterial strains, Caldicellulosiruptor saccharolyticus and C. owensensis to obtain hydrogen, while the liquid effluent containing acetate and residual glucose was used as feed for polyhydroxybutyrate (PHB) production by Ralstonia eutropha. The Caldicellulosiruptor spp.

Lactic acid bacteria: from starter cultures to producers of chemicals.

Lactic acid bacteria constitute a diverse group of industrially significant, safe microorganisms that are primarily used as starter cultures and probiotics, and are also being developed as production systems in industrial biotechnology for biocatalysis and transformation of renewable feedstocks to commodity- and high-value chemicals, and health products. Development of strains, which was initially based mainly on natural approaches, is also achieved by metabolic engineering that has been facilitated by the availability of genome sequences and genetic tools for transformation of some of the bacterial strains. The aim of this paper is to provide a brief overview of the potential of lactic acid bacteria as biological catalysts for production of different organic compounds for food and non-food sectors based on their diversity, metabolic- and stress tolerance features, as well as the use of genetic/metabolic engineering tools for enhancing their capabilities.

Cell immobilization on 3D-printed matrices: A model study on propionic acid fermentation.

This study uses three-dimensional (3D) printing technology as a tool for designing carriers for immobilization of microbial cells for bioprocesses. Production of propionic acid from glucose by immobilized Propionibacterium sp. cells was studied as a model system.

Exploring Lactobacillus reuteri DSM20016 as a biocatalyst for transformation of longer chain 1,2-diols: Limits with microcompartment.

Lactobacillus reuteri metabolises glycerol efficiently to form 3-hydroxypropionic acid (3-HP) and 1,3-propanediol (1,3PDO) by the same mechanism as that for 1,2-propanediol (1,2PDO) conversion to propionic acid and propanol via its propanediol utilization (pdu) pathway. Pdu enzymes are encoded by the pdu-operon, which also contain genes encoding the shell proteins of the microcompartment housing the metabolic pathway. In this work the selectivity and kinetics of the reactions catalysed by L.

Complete Genome Sequence of sp. MS1601, a Bacterium Performing Selective Oxidation of Polyols.

sp. (ATCC 21245) is reclassified here as sp. MS1601 based on 16S rRNA gene and complete-genome sequence analysis.

Immobilization to Positively Charged Cellulose Nanocrystals Enhances the Antibacterial Activity and Stability of Hen Egg White and T4 Lysozyme.

Antibacterial bionanostructures were produced from cellulose nanocrystals (CNC) with immobilized lysozyme from hen egg white (HEW) and T4 bacteriophage, respectively. The nanocrystals were prepared from microcrystalline cellulose by ammonium persulfate oxidation with a yield of 68% and having an average size of 250 nm and low polydispersity index. HEW lysozyme (HEWL) and T4 lysozyme (T4L) were immobilized to CNC by different mechanisms including adsorption and covalent coupling to carbodiimide-activated carboxylate groups and to glutaraldehyde-activated aminated CNC (Am-CNC), respectively.