Purification of xylose reductase from Candida mogii in aqueous two-phase systems

Modeling and optimization of CO2 mass transfer flux into Pz-KOH-CO2 system using RSM and ANN

In this research, artificial neural networks (ANN) and response surface methodology (RSM) were applied for modeling and optimization of carbon dioxide (CO₂) absorption using KOH-Pz-CO₂ system. In the RSM approach, the central composite design (CCD) describes the performance condition in accordance with the model using the least-squares technique. The experimental data was placed in second-order equations applying multivariate regressions and appraised applying analysis of variance (ANOVA). The p-value for all dependent variables was obtained to be less than 0.0001, indicating that all models were significant. Furthermore, the experimental values obtained for the mass transfer flux satisfactorily matched the model values. The R² and Adj-R² models are 0.9822 and 0.9795, respectively, which, it means that 98.22% of the variations for the N_CO2 is explained by the independent variables. Since the RSM does not create any details about the quality of the solution acquired, the ANN method was applied as the global substitute model in optimization problems. The ANNs are versatile utensils that can be utilized to model and anticipate different non-linear and involved processes. This article addresses the validation and improvement of an ANN model and describes the most frequently applied experimental plans, about their restrictions and generic usages. Under different process conditions, the developed ANN weight matrix could successfully forecast the behavior of the CO₂ absorption process. In addition, this study provides methods to specify the accuracy and importance of model fitting for both methodologies explained herein. The MSE values for the best integrated MLP and RBF models for the mass transfer flux were 0.00019 and 0.00048 in 100 epochs, respectively.

Fouling characteristics and cleaning approach of ultrafiltration membrane during xylose reductase separation

Many operating parameters of ultrafiltration (UF) are playing a crucial role when using a polyethersulfone membrane to separate xylose reductase (XR) enzyme from reaction mixtures during xylitol synthesis. The present study focuses on the separation of XR enzyme using a cross-flow ultrafiltration (UF) membrane. The filtration process was analyzed using the three effective variables such as filtration time, cross-flow velocity (CFV), and the transmembrane pressure (TMP), which were ranging from 0 to 100 min, 0.52 to 1.2 cm/s and 1-1.6 bar, respectively. Then, using the resistance in series model, the hydraulic resistance for alkali chemical cleaning during XR separation was estimated. During separation, increased TMP showed a positive-flux effect as a driving force, however, fouling and polarized layer were more prominent under higher TMP. Increased CFV, on the other hand, was found more efficient in fouling control. In terms of the membrane cleaning techniques, an alkaline solution containing 0.1 M sodium hydroxide was shown to be the most effective substance in removing foulants from the membrane surface in this investigation. Cleaning with an alkaline solution resulted in a maximum flux recovery of 93% for xylose reductase separation. This work may serve as a useful guide to better understand the optimization parameters during XR separation and alleviating UF membrane fouling induced during XR separation.

Development of aqueous two-phase systems-based approaches for the selective recovery of metalloproteases and phospholipases A2 toxins from Crotalus molossus nigrescens venom

Snake venoms are rich sources of proteins with potential biotechnological and pharmaceutical applications. Among them, metalloproteases (MPs) and phospholipases A2 (PLA2) are the most abundant. Their isolation involves a multistep chromatographic approach, which has proven to be effective, however implies high operating costs and long processing times. In this study, a cost-effective and simple method based on aqueous two-phase systems (ATPS) was developed to recover MPs and PLA2 from Crotalus molossus nigrescens venom. A system with PEG 400 g mol-1, volume ratio (VR) 1, tie line length (TLL) 25% w/w and pH 7 showed the best performance for PLA2 recovery. In systems with PEG 400 g mol-1, VR 1, TLL 15% w/w, pH 7 and 1 and 3% w/w of NaCl, selective recovery of MP subtype P-III was achieved; whereas, in a system with PEG 400 g mol-1, VR 1, TLL 25% w/w and pH 8.5, MP subtypes P-I and P-III were recovered. Due to their low costs, ethanol-salt systems were also evaluated, however, failed to differentially partition PLA2 and MPs. The use of ATPS could contribute to the simplification and cost reduction of protein isolation processes from snake venoms and other toxin fluids, as well as potentially aid their biochemical, proteomic and biological analyses.

Extraction and purification of Aspergillus tamarii β-fructofuranosidase with transfructosylating activity using aqueous biphasic systems (PEG/phosphate) and magnetic field

β-fructofuranosidases (FFases) are enzymes involved in sucrose hydrolysis and fructo-oligosaccharides' production which are of great interest for the food industry. FFase from Aspergillus tamarii URM4634 was extracted using PEG/Phosphate Aqueous Biphasic Systems (ABS), and the impact of magnetic field on the extraction behavior was evaluated. A 2⁴-full experimental design was employed to study the influence of molar mass of PEG, concentrations of PEG and phosphate and pH on the selected response variables, i.e., partition coefficient (K), purification factor (PF), activity yield (Y) and selectivity (S). The influence of magnetic field during partition and NaCl concentration on the same responses was also studied. The best results of FFase extraction without magnetic field (K = 0.50, PF = 4.05, Y = 72.66% and S = 0.06) were observed at pH 8.0 using 12.5% (w/w) PEG 400 and 25% (w/w) NaH₂PO₄/K₂HPO₄. Application of the magnetic field allowed improving the performance, with the best results being obtained at the longest distance between magnets (lowest magnetic field) and absence of NaCl (K = 0.93, PF = 4.22, Y = 83.79% and S = 0.09). The outcomes obtained demonstrate that ABS combination with low intensity magnetic field can be used as an efficient FFase pre-purification method.

Production and partial purification by PEG/citrate ATPS of a β-galactosidase from the new promising isolate Cladosporium tenuissimum URM 7803

β-Galactosidase production, partial purification and characterization by a new fungal were investigated. Partial purification was performed by aqueous two-phase system (ATPS) using polyethylene glycol (PEG) molar mass, PEG concentration, citrate concentration and pH as the independent variables. Purification factor (PF), partition coefficient (K) and yield (Y) were the responses. After identification by rDNA sequencing and classification as Cladosporium tenuissimum URM 7803, this isolate achieved a maximum cell concentration and β-galactosidase activity of 0.48 g/L and 462.1 U/mL, respectively. β-Galactosidase partitioned preferentially for bottom salt-rich phase likely due to hydrophobicity and volume exclusion effect caused in the top phase by the high PEG concentration and molar mass. The highest value of PF (12.94) was obtained using 24% (w/w) PEG 8000 g/mol and 15% (w/w) citrate, while that of Y (79.76%) using 20% (w/w) PEG 400 g/mol and 25% (w/w) citrate, both at pH 6. The enzyme exhibited optimum temperature in crude and ATPS extracts in the ranges 35-50 °C and 40-55 °C, respectively, and optimum pH in the range 3.0-4.5, with a fall of enzyme activity under alkaline conditions. Some metal ions and detergents inhibited, while others stimulated enzyme activity. Finally, C. tenuissimum URM 7803 β-galactosidase showed a profile suitable for prebiotics production.

Purification of Pseudomonas sp. proteases through aqueous biphasic systems as an alternative source to obtain bioactive protein hydrolysates

Aqueous biphasic systems (ABSs) are an interesting alternative for separating industrial enzymes due to easy scale-up and low operational cost. The proteases of Pseudomonas sp. M211 were purified through ABS platforms formed by polyethylene glycol (PEG) and citrate buffer salt. Two experimental designs 2³  + 4 were performed to evaluate the following parameters: molar mass of PEG (M_PEG ), concentration of PEG (C_PEG ), concentration of citrate buffer (C_Cit ), and pH. The partition coefficient (K), activity yield (Y), and purification factor (PF) were the responses analyzed. The best purification performance was obtained with the system composed of M_PEG  = 10,000 g/mol, C_PEG  = 22 wt%, C_Cit  = 12 wt%, pH = 8.0; the responses obtained were K = 4.9, Y = 84.5%, PF = 15.1, and tie-line length = 52.74%. The purified proteases of Pseudomonas sp. (PPP) were used to obtain hydrolysates of Lupinus mutabilis (Peruvian lupin cultivar) seed protein in comparison with the commercial protease Alcalase® 2.4L. A strong correlation between hydrolysis degree and radical scavenging activity was observed, and the highest antioxidant activity was obtained with Alcalase® (1.40 and 3.47 μmol Trolox equivalent/mg protein, for 2,2'-azino-bis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulphonic acid) and oxygen radical absorbance capacity, respectively) compared with PPP (0.55 and 1.03 μmol Trolox/mg protein). Nevertheless, the IC₅₀ values were lower than those often observed for antioxidant hydrolysates from plant proteins. PEG/citrate buffer system is valuable to purify Pseudomonas proteases from the fermented broth, and the purified protease could be promising to produce antioxidant protein hydrolysates.

Medium Optimization by Response Surface Methodology for Improved Cholesterol Oxidase Production by a Newly Isolated Streptomyces rochei NAM-19 Strain

Cholesterol oxidase is an alcohol oxidoreductase flavoprotein with wide biotechnological applications. The current work describes the isolation of a potential cholesterol oxidase producing streptomycete from Egyptian soil. The isolated strain produced cholesterol oxidase in submerged culture using a medium containing glucose, yeast extract, malt extract, and CaCO₃ with the addition of cholesterol as an inducer. The isolated strain was identified as Streptomyces rochei NAM-19 based on 16S rRNA sequencing and phylogeny. Optimization of cholesterol oxidase production has been carried out using response surface methodology. The Plackett-Burman design method was used to evaluate the significant components of the production medium followed by Box-Behnken experimental design to locate the true optimal concentrations, which are significantly affecting enzyme production. Results showed that the predicted enzyme response could be closely correlated with the experimentally obtained production. Furthermore, the applied optimization strategy increased volumetric enzyme production by 2.55 times (65.1 U/mL) the initial production obtained before medium optimization (25.5 U/mL).

Purification of a lectin from Cratylia mollis crude extract seed by a single step PEG/phosphate aqueous two-phase system

The partitioning and purification of lectins from the crude extract of Cratylia mollis seeds (Cramoll 1,4) was investigated in aqueous two-phase systems (ATPS). A factorial design model (2⁴) was used to evaluate the influence of polyethylene glycol (PEG) molar mass (1500-8000 g/mol), PEG concentration (12.5-17.5% w/w), phosphate (10-15% w/w) concentration, and pH (6-8) on the differential partitioning, purification factor, and yield of the lectin. Polymer and salt concentration were the most important variables affecting partition of lectin and used to find optimum purification factor by experimental Box-Behnken design together with the response surface methodology (RSM). ATPS showed best conditions composed by 13.9% PEG1500, 15.3% phosphate buffer at pH 6, which ensured purification factor of 4.70. Sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis showed a single band of protein with 26.1 kDa. Furthermore, results demonstrated a thermostable lectin presenting activity until 60 °C and lost hemagglutinating activity at 80 °C. According to the obtained data it can be inferred that the ATPS optimization using RSM approach can be applied for recovery and purification of lectins.

Application of aqueous biphasic systems as strategy to purify tannase from Aspergillus tamarii URM 7115

The aims of the current study are to assess the influence of polyethylene glycol (PEG) concentration, molar mass, pH, and citrate concentrations on aqueous biphasic systems based on 2⁴ factorial designs, as well as to check their capacity to purify tannase secreted by Aspergillus tamarii URM 7115. Tannase was produced through submerged fermentation at 26°C for 67 h in Czapeck-Dox modified broth and added with yeast extract and tannic acid. The factorial design was followed to assess the influence of PEG molar mass (M_PEG 600; 4,000 and 8,000 g/ mol), and PEG (C_PEG 20.0; 22.0 and 24.0% w/w) and citrate concentrations (C_CIT 15.0, 17.5, and 20.0%, w/w), as well as of pH (6.0, 7.0, and 8.0) on the response variables; moreover, partition coefficient (K), yield (Y), and purification factor (PF) were analyzed. The most suitable parameters to purify tannase secreted by A. tamarii URM 7115 through a biphasic system were 600 (g/mol) M_PEG, 24% (w/w) C_PEG, 15% (w/w) C_CIT at pH 6.0 and they resulted in 6.33 enzyme partition, 131.25% yield, 19.80 purification factor and 195.08 selectivity. Tannase secreted by A. tamarii URM 7115 purified through aqueous biphasic systems composed of PEG/citrate can be used for industrial purposes, since it presents suitable purification factor and yield.

Potential application of waste from castor bean (Ricinus communis L.) for production for xylanase of interest in the industry

Xylanases activity (XY) from Aspergillus japonicus URM5620 produced by Solid-State Fermentation (SSF) of castor press cake (Ricinus communis) on different conditions of production and extraction by PEG/citrate aqueous two-phase system (ATPS) were investigated. XY production was influenced by substrate amount (5–10 g), initial moisture (15–35 %), pH (4.0–6.0) and temperature (25–35 °C), obtaining the maximum activity of 29,085 ± 1808 U g ds⁻¹ using 5.0 g of substrate with initial moisture of 15 % at 25 °C and pH 6.0, after 120 h of fermentation. The influence of PEG molar mass (1000–8000 g mol⁻¹), phase concentrations (PEG 20.0–24.0 % w/w and sodium citrate 15–20 % w/w) and pH (6.0–8.0) on partition coefficient, purification factor, yield and selectivity of XY were determinate. Enzyme partitioning into the PEG rich phase was favored by M_PEG 8000 (g mol⁻¹), C_PEG 24 % (w/w), C_C 20 % (w/w) and pH 8.0, resulting in partition coefficient of 50.78, activity yield of 268 %, 7.20-fold purification factor and selectivity of 293. A. japonicus URM5620 has a potential role in the development of a bioprocess for the XY production using low-cost media. In addition, the present study proved it is feasible to extract xylanase from SSF by adopting the one step ATPS consisting of PEG/citrate.

Medical Application of Spirulina platensis Derived C-Phycocyanin

Along with the development of marine biological pharmaceutical research, high-effective and low-toxic drugs and functional foods isolated from marine organisms have become a new field of pharmacy and bromatology. The pharmacological actions, such as anti-inflammation, antioxidation, antitumor, immunological enhancement, and hepatorenal protection of C-phycocyanin (C-PC) from Spirulina platensis, have been reported, and C-PC has important value of development and utilization either as drug or as functional food. There are many researches about the various pharmacological actions and mechanisms of C-PC, but related reports are only to some extent integrated deeply and accurately enough, which put some limitations to the further application of C-PC in medicine. Particularly, with the improvement of living standards and attention to health issues, C-PC being a functional food is preferred by more and more people. C-PC is easy to get, safe, and nontoxic; thus, it has a great potential of research and development as a drug or functional food. Here, the separation and purification, physicochemical properties, physiological and pharmacological activities, safety, and some applications are reviewed to provide relevant basis for the development of natural medicine and applied products.

Process Integration for the Disruption of Candida guilliermondii Cultivated in Rice Straw Hydrolysate and Recovery of Glucose-6-Phosphate Dehydrogenase by Aqueous Two-Phase Systems

Remaining cells of Candida guilliermondii cultivated in hemicellulose-based fermentation medium were used as intracellular protein source. Recovery of glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD) was attained in conventional aqueous two-phase systems (ATPS) was compared with integrated process involving mechanical disruption of cells followed by ATPS. Influences of polyethylene glycol molar mass (M PEG) and tie line lengths (TLL) on purification factor (PF), yields in top (Y T ) and bottom (Y B ) phases and partition coefficient (K) were evaluated. First scheme resulted in 65.9 % enzyme yield and PF of 2.16 in salt-enriched phase with clarified homogenate (M PEG 1500 g mol(-1), TLL 40 %); Y B of 75.2 % and PF B of 2.9 with unclarified homogenate (M PEG 1000 g mol(-1), TLL 35 %). The highest PF value of integrated process was 2.26 in bottom phase (M PEG 1500 g mol(-1), TLL 40 %). In order to optimize this response, a quadratic model was predicted for the response PFB for process integration. Maximum response achieved was PFB = 3.3 (M PEG 1500 g mol(-1), TLL 40 %). Enzyme characterization showed G6P Michaelis-Menten constant (K M ) equal 0.07-0.05, NADP(+) K M 0.02-1.98 and optimum temperature 70 °C, before and after recovery. Overall, our data confirmed feasibility of disruption/extraction integration for single-step purification of intracellular proteins from remaining yeast cells.

Evaluation of the effects of the parameters involved in the purification of clavulanic acid from fermentation broth by aqueous two-phase systems

The purification of clavulanic acid (CA), which is an important beta-lactam antibiotic produced by submerged cultivation of Streptomyces clavuligerus, was studied through the use of phosphate and polyethylene glycol-based aqueous two-phase systems. The parameters' effect on the yield and purification was evaluated through an experimental design and the preliminary results showed that the polyethylene molecular mass and tie-line length and phase volume ratio exerted the strongest effect on the yield and distribution coefficient in the range tested. In addition, the response surface methodology was used to optimize the distribution coefficient, yield, and purification factor. The optimal conditions of yield and purification factor are in the regions where polyethylene has a low molecular mass, pH close to the isoelectric point, and lower top phase volume. A 100% yield and a 1.5-fold purification factor are obtained when extracting CA by maximizing the conditions of an aqueous two-phase system.

Pectinase partitioning in polyethylene glycol 1000/Na2SO4 aqueous two-phase system: statistical modeling of the experimental results

Statistical models concerning partitioning of pectinase in polyethylene glycol 1000/Na2SO4 aqueous two-phase system were established with response surface methodology. Concentrations of polyethylene glycol 1000 and Na2SO4 were selected as independent variables to evaluate their impact on parameters of partitioning in aqueous two-phase system--the partition coefficient of pectinase, purification factor and pectinase yield. An experimental space where over 2.5-fold purification was achieved, followed by over 90% yield of pectinase. The established models showed good prediction of partitioning parameters.

Removal of proteases from Clostridium perfringens fermented broth by aqueous two-phase systems (PEG/citrate)

In order to reduce the toxicity of Clostridium perfringens fermentation broths used in vaccine preparation, we developed two-phase aqueous systems for removal of toxin-activating proteases. Removal of the proteases inhibits the conversion of protoxin to active toxin. In order to establish the conditions under which the phase separation occurs, binodal curves, formed by poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) and sodium citrate, were investigated at different values of pH and PEG molar mass. A 2(4)-experimental design was used to evaluate the influence of PEG molar mass and concentration, citrate concentration and pH on protease partition coefficient, removal.factor and protease removal yield. It has been found that simultaneous increase in PEG molar mass and decrease in citrate concentration remarkably improved the removal factor, whereas the protease removal yield showed an opposite trend. The best conditions for the system under consideration (removal factor of 2.69 and yield of 116%) were obtained at pH 8.0 using PEG molar mass of 8000 g mol(-1) and concentrations of PEG and citrate of 24 and 15%, respectively.

Optimizing refolding and recovery of active recombinant Bacillus halodurans xylanase in polymer–salt aqueous two-phase system using surface response analysis

An experimental design was used to determine optimal conditions for refolding of a recombinant thermostable and alkaline active xylanase from Bacillus halodurans in PEG-phosphate two-phase system. The influence of different experimental variables on the enzyme recovery has been evaluated. To build the mathematical model and minimize the number of experiments for the design parameters, response surface methodology with a face-centered central composite design (CCF) was defined based on the conditions found by preliminary tests that resulted in the highest refolding yield. The adequacy of the calculated model for the response was confirmed by means of variance analysis and additional experiments. Analysis of contours of constant response as a function of pH, polyethylene glycol (PEG) molecular weight and concentration, and salt concentration for different enzyme loads revealed different effects of these five factors on the studied parameters. Recovery of more than 92% active xylanase was predicted for a system with 18.3% (w/w) PEG 1000, 14.4% (w/w) phosphate at pH 8.5, and enzyme load corresponding to a protein concentration of about 0.05 mg/g system. The yield of the refolded enzyme was found to be optimal at 22 degrees C. The validity of the response model was verified by a good agreement between predicted and experimental results.