Purification of lactic acid from fermentation broth by spherical anion exchange polymer

Lactic acid production from food waste: Advances in microbial fermentation and separation technologies

China generates over 100 million tons of food waste annually, leading to significant environmental pollution and health risks if not managed properly. Converting FW into a high-value-added platform molecule, lactic acid (LA), through fermentation offers a promising approach for both waste treatment and resource recovery. This paper presents a comprehensive review of recent advancements in LA production from FW, focusing on pure strains fermentation and open fermentation technologies, metabolic mechanisms, and problems in fermentation. It also assesses purification methods, including molecular distillation, adsorption, membrane separation, precipitation, esterification and hydrolysis, solvent extraction, and in-situ separation, analyzing their efficiency, advantages, and disadvantages. However, current research encounters several challenges, including low LA yield, low optical purity of L-(+)-LA, and difficulties in the separation and purification of LA. The integration of in-situ separation technology coupled with multiple separation methods is highlighted as a promising direction for future advancements.

Determining the efficacy of disinfectants at nucleic acid degradation

AIMS

Nucleic acids, particularly antibiotic resistance genes, are commonly found on surfaces within healthcare environments, with levels not reducing following cleaning. Within the UK, there are no regulations for testing disinfectants against nucleic acids.

METHODS AND RESULTS

A series of commonplace in vitro methods were used to determine disinfectant-induced physical and functional damage to various nucleic acids; RNA (10 μg), genomic DNA (2 μg), and plasmids (1 μg). Using these methods, the optimal residence time (10 minutes) and working concentration (10%) were determined for a new disinfectant. Furthermore, comparison of disinfectants with different active ingredients including lactic acid (LA), sodium hydroxide (NaOH), chloroxylenol (PCMX), and quaternary ammonium compounds (QACs), were compared to controls. All disinfectants showed greater degradation by gel electrophoresis of genomic DNA and RNA than of purified plasmids. Functional analysis using quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) demonstrated that no disinfectant tested (apart from control) could damage DNA to the level where PCR amplification was not possible, and only the NaOH reagent could achieve this for RNA.

CONCLUSIONS

The set of methods described herein provides a platform for future standardization and potential regulation regarding monitoring cleaning solutions for their activity against nucleic acids.

Microbial production of lactic acid from food waste: Latest advances, limits, and perspectives

A significant amount of food waste (FW) is produced every year. If it is not disposed of timeously, human health and the ecological environment can be negatively affected. Lactic acid (LA), a high value-added product, can be produced by fermentation from FW as a substrate, realizing the concurrent treatment and recycling of FW, which has attracted increasing research interest. In this paper, the latest advances and deficiencies were presented from the following aspects: microorganisms involved in LA fermentation and the metabolic pathways of Lactobacillus, fermentation conditions, and methods of enhanced biotransformation and LA separation. The limitations of the LA fermentation of FW are mainly associated with low LA concentration and yield, the low purity of L(+)-LA, and the high separation costs. The establishment of biorefineries of FW with lactic acid as the target product is the future development direction, but there are still many research studies to be done.