New model development for qualitative and quantitative analysis of microbial polyhydroxyalkanoates: A comparison of Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy with Gas Chromatography

Bioconversion of glycerol into polyhydroxyalkanoates through an atypical metabolism shift using Priestia megaterium during fermentation processes: A statistical analysis of carbon and nitrogen source concentrations

Polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHA) are bioplastics which are well known as intracellular energy storage compounds and are produced in a large number of prokaryotic species. These bio-based inclusions are biodegradable, biocompatible and environmental friendly. Industrial production of, short chain and medium chain length PHA, involves the use of microorganisms and their enzymes. Priestia megaterium previously known as Bacillus megaterium is a well-recognized bacterium for producing short chain length PHA. This study focuses to characterize this bacterium for the production of medium chain length PHA, and a novel blend of both types of monomers having enhanced properties and versatile applications. Statistical analyses and simulations were used to demonstrate that cell dry weight can be derived as a function of OD600 and PHA content. Optimization of growth conditions resulted in the maximum PHA production as: 0. 05 g. g-x. H-1, where the rate of PHA production was 0.28 g L-1. H-1 and PHA concentration was 4.94 g. L-1. This study also demonstrated FTIR to be a semi quantitative tool for PHA production. Moreover, conversion of scl-PHA to mcl-PHA with reference to time intermissions using GC-FID are shown.

Polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs) as Biomaterials in Tissue Engineering: Production, Isolation, Characterization

Polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs) are biodegradable and biocompatible biopolymers. These biomaterials have grown in importance in the fields of tissue engineering and tissue reconstruction for structural applications where tissue morphology is critical, such as bone, cartilage, blood vessels, and skin, among others. Furthermore, they can be used to accelerate the regeneration in combination with drugs, as drug delivery systems, thus reducing microbial infections. When cells are cultured under stress conditions, a wide variety of microorganisms produce them as a store of intracellular energy in the form of homo- and copolymers of [R]—hydroxyalkanoic acids, depending on the carbon source used for microorganism growth. This paper gives an overview of PHAs, their biosynthetic pathways, producing microorganisms, cultivation bioprocess, isolation, purification and characterization to obtain biomaterials with medical applications such as tissue engineering.

Development of Marine-Derived Compounds for Cancer Therapy

Cancer has always been a threat to human health with its high morbidity and mortality rates. Traditional therapy, including surgery, chemotherapy and radiotherapy, plays a key role in cancer treatment. However, it is not able to prevent tumor recurrence, drug resistance and treatment side effects, which makes it a very attractive challenge to search for new effective and specific anticancer drugs. Nature is a valuable source of multiple pharmaceuticals, and most of the anticancer drugs are natural products or derived from them. Marine-derived compounds, such as nucleotides, proteins, peptides and amides, have also shed light on cancer therapy, and they are receiving a fast-growing interest due to their bioactive properties. Their mechanisms contain anti-angiogenic, anti-proliferative and anti-metastasis activities; cell cycle arrest; and induction of apoptosis. This review provides an overview on the development of marine-derived compounds with anticancer properties, both their applications and mechanisms, and discovered technologies.