Effects of Medium Composition and Process Parameters on the Production of Extracellular Inulinase by Thermomyces lanuginosus

The production of extracellular inulinase by eighteen Thermomyces lanuginosus strains was screened, and strain IMI 140524 was selected for further studies. The effects of various carbon and nitrogen sources on inulinase activity were investigated, and the best ones were found to be Jerusalem artichoke extract and peptone at the optimum fraction of 1.8 and 0.6 %, respectively. Effects of medium composition and fermentation conditions were also determined for the production of extracellular inulinase. The addition of 1 % (by volume) Tween 80 into fermentation medium enhanced the secretion of extracellular inulinase. In bench-scale fermentor, the age and amount of inoculum were also optimized andthey were determined to be 40-hour-old culture and 5.0 % (by volume), respectively. The initial pH of the medium was adjusted to 6.5 and no further pH control was needed. Optimal aeration and agitation were 0.75 L/min and 150 rpm, respectivel

Nano-scale reservoir computing

This work describes preliminary steps towards nano-scale reservoir computing using quantum dots. Our research has focused on the development of an accumulator-based sensing system that reacts to changes in the environment, as well as the development of a software simulation. The investigated systems generate nonlinear responses to inputs that make them suitable for a physical implementation of a neural network. This development will enable miniaturisation of the neurons to the molecular level, leading to a range of applications including monitoring of changes in materials or structures. The system is based around the optical properties of quantum dots. The paper will report on experimental work on systems using Cadmium Selenide (CdSe) quantum dots and on the various methods to render the systems sensitive to pH, redox potential or specific ion concentration. Once the quantum dot-based systems are rendered sensitive to these triggers they can provide a distributed array that can monitor and transmit information on changes within the material.Comment: 8 pages, 9 figures, accepted for publication in Nano Communication Networks, http://www.journals.elsevier.com/nano-communication-networks/. An earlier version was presented at the 3rd IEEE International Workshop on Molecular and Nanoscale Communications (IEEE MoNaCom 2013

Biomérnöki up stream és down stream kutatások. = Studies on biochemical engineering up stream and down stream processes.

Kutatásunk négy részfeladat kimunkálására irányultak. Az 1,3-propándiol biokonverzióra egy új enzimes eljárást dolgoztunk ki: a glicerin-dehidratáz enzim által glicerinről képzett HPA-t NADH2 koenzimel az 1,3-propándiol-oxidoreduktáz enzim redukálja 1,3-PD-lá miközben a NAD+-dá oxidálódott koenzim visszaredukálását a glicerin-dehidrogenáz végzi, a glicerinből DHA-t állítva elő. Az enzimeket és a koenzimeket egy membránreaktorban bezárva, így folytonos technológiával, a betáplált glicerinből két értékes termék keletkezik egyidejűleg: 1,3-PD és DHA. A festékkromatográfiás kutatásunk során különböző enzimeknek ilyetén tisztítását vizsgáltuk és megállapítottunk, hogy a módszer alkalmas a fehérjék parcionális tisztítására és koncentrálására. Thermomyces lanuginosus törzs optimált körülmények között kb. 100 NE/ml extracelluláris alfa-galaktozidázt szintetizál. Az enzim kinyerésére és tisztítására eljárást dolgoztunk ki. Az enzim fehérje glikoprotein optimális működés feltételeit megállapítottuk, szubsztrátspecifitását meghatároztuk. A hidrolitikus aktivitás mellett az enzimmel triszacharidokat is sikerült szintetizálni. Szekvencia alapján valószínűsíthető hogy a törzs alfa-galaktozidáza a GH-36 családhoz tartozik. Megállapítottuk, hogy a T. lanuginosus valamint Aspergillus niger megfelelő tápközeg alkalmazásával extracelluláris fitáz enzimet termel. Tápközeg optimálási kísérletek végeztünk és eljárást dolgoztunk ki a megtermelt enzimek kinyerésére és tisztítására. | Our researchesfocused into four directions. A new enzymatic bioconversion of 1,3-propándiol was worked out: glycerol-dehydratase converts the S to HPA which is converted to 1,3-PD while the coenzyme is regenerated in an other reaction resulted in DHA from glycerol.Enzymes and coenzymes are entrapped in a membrane reactor thus with a contimuous technology two valuable products (1,3-PD and DHA) are produced simultaneously from glycerol. Regarding paintchromatographic methods we examined its possible use for partial purification and concentration of various enzyme proteines. 100 U/ml of extracellular alfa-galactosidase is produced by Thermomyces lanuginosus when grown in submerse culture.The enzyme was isolated and concentrated. The enzyme proved to be a glycoprotein, and optimal operational conditions were determined. Alfa-Galactosidase S-specificity was determined as well. This enzyme also exhibits transferase activity in melibiose/maltose mixture producing trisaccharides. The alfa-galactosidase of the strain was to be classified in glycosyl hydrolase family 36. Results showed that T. lanuginosus CBS 288.54 and ATCC 34626 as well as Aspergillus niger F00735 were able to synthesize extracellular phytase enzymes in appropriate media. Media optimization as well as an appropriate enzyme izolation and purification method were elaborated

Development and Evaluation of Sensor Concepts for Ageless Aerospace Vehicles: Report 6 - Development and Demonstration of a Self-Organizing Diagnostic System for Structural Health Monitoring

This report describes a significant advance in the capability of the CSIRO/NASA structural health monitoring Concept Demonstrator (CD). The main thrust of the work has been the development of a mobile robotic agent, and the hardware and software modifications and developments required to enable the demonstrator to operate as a single, self-organizing, multi-agent system. This single-robot system is seen as the forerunner of a system in which larger numbers of small robots perform inspection and repair tasks cooperatively, by self-organization. While the goal of demonstrating self-organized damage diagnosis was not fully achieved in the time available, much of the work required for the final element that enables the robot to point the video camera and transmit an image has been completed. A demonstration video of the CD and robotic systems operating will be made and forwarded to NASA