• KSBB Journal
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• v.14 no.3
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• pp.291-296
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• 1999

Chiral epoxides are key intermediates for the production of chiral pharmaceuticals, agrochemicals, and functional food additives. Chiral epoxides can be produced by either chemical or biological method. In biocatalytic production routes, chiral epoxides can be produced via epoxidations of prochiral alkenes by monooxygenase or peroxidase. Kinetic resolution of racemic epoxides using whole cells of bacteria or fungi might be commercially useful, since it is possible to obtain chiral epoxides with high optical purities from relatively cheap and readily avaiable racemic epoxides. Some bioprocesses already are commercially developed: the biocatalytic production of chiral epichlorohydrin via microbial stereospecific dehalogenation, and lipase-catalyzed enantioselective hydrolysis in a hollow fiber membrane bioreactor for the production of chiral methyl trans-3-(4-methoxyphenyl)glycidate. the intermediate for calcium antagonist diltiazem. The importance of biocatalytic production of chiral epoxides with several examples from literature are presented.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.11 no.3
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• pp.406-411
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• 2001

In a bacterial denitrification test with Pseudomonas sp. and anaerobic consortium, more nitrates and less substrate were consumed but less metabolic nitrite was produced under an anaerobic $H_2$ condition rather than under $N_2$ condition. In a bioelectrochemical denitrification test with the same organisms, the electrochemically reduced neutral red was confirmed to be a substitute electron donor and a reducing power like $H_2$. The biocatalytic activity of membrane-free bacterial extract, membrane fraction, and intact cell for bioelectrochemical denitrification was measured using cyclic voltammetry. When neutral red was used as an electron mediator, the electron transfer from electrode to electron acceptor (nitrate) via neutral red was not observed in the cyclic voltammogram with the membrane-free bacterial extract, but it was confirmed to gradually increase in proportion to the concentration of nitrate in that of the membrane fraction and the intact cell of Pseudomonas sp.

• Membrane Journal
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• v.34 no.5
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• pp.225-233
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• 2024

Membrane technology has been used in separation processes such as wastewater treatment, desalination, and hemolysis. However, in proccess of the non-solvent-induced phase separation (NIPS) which is the most widely adopted method for fabricating porous polymer membranes, using toxic organic solvents is a critical problem for environmental aspect. To resolve this problem, the aqueous phase separation (APS) has received attention, which produces polymeric membranes without using the organic solvent. In this review, we provide principle and process of APS. The ratio of monomers, pH and salt concentration in aqueous solution, viscosity of casting solutions, and concentration of cross-linkers can leverage the structures of membranes.

• Journal of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.39 no.12
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• pp.925-931
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• 1995

Urea sensors, prepared by immobilizing urease on ammonium-selective membrane electrodes doped with nonactin, can show interference from several ionic species present in blood samples (e.g., sodium, potassium, and endogenous ammonium ions). This interference problem does not arise from the immobilized biocatalytic reaction but rather from the innate response of the base transducer to ionic species in the sample. In this work, the use of calibrators containing adequate amounts of ionic species is examined to reduce errors caused by endogenous ionic interferences with blood urea measurements. Simultaneous measurements of the interfering species with additional sensors and subsequent substractions of these values from the urea electrode signals are also described. It is shown that the use of a potassium-selective electrode with an adequate calibrator system greatly enhances the accuracy of the urea sensor measurements.