Detection of alkanes, alcohols, and aldehydes using bioluminescence.

We report a novel method for the rapid, sensitive, and quantitative detection of alkanes, alcohols, and aldehydes that relies on the reaction of bacterial luciferase with an aldehyde, resulting in the emission of light. Primary alcohols with corresponding aldehydes that are within the substrate range of the particular luciferase are detected after conversion to the aldehyde by an alcohol dehydrogenase. In addition, alkanes themselves may be detected by conversion to primary alcohols by an alkane hydroxylase, followed by conversion to the aldehyde by alcohol dehydrogenase.

Comparison of the emulsion characteristics of Rhodococcus erythropolis and Escherichia coli SOXC-5 cells expressing biodesulfurization genes.

Biodesulfurization of fuel oils is a two-phase (oil/water) process which may offer an interesting alternative to conventional hydrodesulfurization due to the mild operating conditions and reaction specificity afforded by the biocatalyst. For biodesulfurization to realize commercial success, a variety of process considerations must be addressed including reaction rate, emulsion formation and breakage, biocatalyst recovery, and both gas and liquid mass transport. This study evaluates emulsion formation and breakage using two biocatalysts with differing hydrophobic characteristics.

Electron Paramagnetic Resonance Spectroscopy of the Iron-Molybdenum Cofactor of Clostridium pasteurianum Nitrogenase.

We report a computer simulation study of the electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectral line shape of the iron-molybdenum cofactor of nitrogenase. The unusually broad and asymmetric line shape of the EPR spectrum can be interpreted in terms of a distribution of zero-field splitting parameters called D-strain. The best fit simulations were computed using D = 2.