Influence of pH on cellular growth of Pichia pastoris KM71H by fed-batch process

Pichia pastoris is a methylotrophic yeast that can be genetically engineered to express proteins for industrial use. One of the most important advantages of protein expression in P. pastoris is its capability of growing on minimal medium and efficiently secreting heterologous proteins with low secretion levels of endogenous proteins. Operational variables such as pH, temperature, stirring rate, among others, usually affect the microorganism’s growth during the fermentation processes. Therefore, the present work aimed to evaluate the influence of pH on cellular growth of P. pastoris KM71H by fed‐batch process. The fermentation run was carried out in a 1.6 L (total volume) bioreactor, being performed in two phases: In the first stage (24 h), the yeast was batchcultured in BMGH medium; while in the second stage (72 h), it was cultivated by feed‐batch operation with a feeding medium containing 50% glycerol and 12ml/l of trace metal solution. During the overall process, which lasted after 96 h, the aeration and temperature conditions were fixed at 10 ml\L.h, 1.5 vvm and 30°C, respectively. Different pH values were evaluated: 5.0, 5.5 and 6.0. Cellular growth was determined by measuring the fermentation broth UVspectrophotometric absorbance at 600 nm, which was correlated to a calibration curve (dry weight ´ optical density). Glycerol consumption was detected by HPLC analysis. P. pastoris KM71H successfully grew in all the evaluated pH values; but the highest biomass production was observed at pH 5.0 (98.79 g/L). Although P. pastoris is reported as being a microorganism able to grow over a wide pH range (from 3 to 7); it was not observed high cell density of P. pastoris KM71H strain when cultivated at pHs 5.5 and 6.0. High cellular growth is especially important for proteins secretion, as the concentration of product in the medium is roughly proportional to the concentration of cells in culture. Finally, these results reveal the possibility of obtaining high cell density of P. pastoris KM71H by fed‐bach cultivation at pH 5.0, which can be a suitable condition for the yeast application in heterologous proteins production.Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico Brazil (CNPq)Improving Skills Across Continents (ISAC ) - Erasmus Mundus External Cooperation Window (ERASMUS

Avaliação da atividade antimicrobiana de sistema nanoparticulado contendo ácido úsnico

O presente trabalho avalia a caracterização físico-química e a atividade antimicobacteriana in vitro do ácido úsnico (AU) encapsulado em nanocápsulas (NC-AU) de copolímero de ácido D,L-(láctico-glicólico) (PLGA) (50:50). O espectro de infravermelho da NC-AU mostrou uma banda de absorção em 1750 cm-1 atribuído aos grupos ésteres do PLGA. As bandas de absorção nas faixas de 1635 e 1190 cm-1 foram referentes ao grupo aromático da cetona e ao grupo fenil do ácido úsnico, respectivamente. A análise de calorimetria diferencial de varredura (DSC) da NC-AU revelou a presença de um pico endotérmico em 45,5 °C com variação da entalpia de 23,8 J/g. Enquanto que o AU apresentou um único pico endotérmico em 201,7 ºC referente ao seu ponto de fusão, com variação da entalpia de 85,2 J/g. A encapsulação do ácido úsnico ocorreu sem interação molecular com o polímero. A análise termogravimétrica da NC-AU e da nanocápsula vazia (NC) mostrou duas fases de degradação, enquanto que o AU apresentou uma única fase de decomposição. Nenhuma perda de peso da NC-AU e da NC foi observada até 50 °C, sugerindo que as amostras foram estáveis até essa temperatura. A susceptibilidade do M. tuberculosis ao AU e NC-AU foi de 7,98 e 3,83 μg/mL, respectivamente. A análise da atividade intracelular revelou um aumento de 30% na atividade antimicobacteriana do AU quando encapsulado nas nanocápsulas de PLGA. Dessa maneira, conclui-se que a encapsulação em nanocápsulas de PLGA potencializa a atividade antimicobacteriana in vitro do A

Influence of trace elements supplementation on the production of recombinant frutalin by Pichia pastoris KM71H in fed-batch process

Frutalin, a galactose-specific lectin used to detect specific tumour markers, is a protein with low expression level in breadfruit. In the present study, fed-batch fermentation in a stirred tank bioreactor was used as a strategy to enhance protein production by a recombinant Pichia pastoris KM71H. By using this process, the production of recombinant frutalin was 4-fold higher than the value obtained in shaker flasks batch assays. Supplementation of the fermentation medium with trace elements (Pichia trace minerals, PTM) was also evaluated in order to stimulate production of the recombinant protein. The addition of PTM to the minimum medium afforded a recombinant protein production of 13.4 mg L−1, which was 2.5-fold higher than that achieved from the culture medium without PTM supplementation. These results are significant as the development of strategies to improve the production of recombinant frutalin may broaden its application in cancer diagnosis.The authors are grateful for the financial support received from Erasmus Mundus External Cooperation Window - ISAC programme, and Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Cientifico e Tecnologico (CNPQ) - Brazil