• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.31 no.6
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• pp.890-901
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• 2021

The 11α-hydroxylation of canrenone can be catalyzed by Aspergillus ochraceus in bioreactors, where the geometry of the impeller greatly influences the biotransformation. In this study, the effects of the blade number and impeller diameter of a Rushton turbine on the 11α-hydroxylation of canrenone were considered. The results of fermentation experiments using a 50 mm four-blade impeller showed that 3.40% and 11.43% increases in the conversion ratio were achieved by increasing the blade number and impeller diameter, respectively. However, with an impeller diameter of 60 mm, the conversion ratio with a six-blade impeller was 14.42% lower than that with a four-blade impeller. Data from cold model experiments with a large-diameter six-blade impeller indicated that the serious leakage of inclusions and a 22.08% enzyme activity retention led to a low conversion ratio. Numerical simulations suggested that there was good gas distribution and high fluid flow velocity when the fluid was stirred by large-diameter impellers, resulting in a high dissolved oxygen content and good bulk circulation, which positively affected hyphal growth and metabolism. However, a large-diameter six-blade impeller created overly high shear compared to a large-diameter four-blade impeller, thereby decreasing the conversion ratio. The average shear rates of the former and latter cases were 43.25 s^-1 and 35.31 s^-1, respectively. We therefore concluded that appropriate shear should be applied in the 11α-hydroxylation of canrenone. Overall, this study provides basic data for the scaled-up production of 11α-hydroxycanrenone.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.29 no.4
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• pp.633-644
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• 2019

An advanced anaerobic expanded granular sludge bed (AnaEG) and an internal circulation (IC) reactor, which were adopted to treat starch processing wastewater (SPW) and ethanol processing wastewater (EPW), were comprehensively analyzed to determine the key factors that affected the granules and microbial communities in the bioreactors. The granule size of $900{\mu}m$ in the AnaEG reactor was smaller than that in the IC reactor, and the internal and external morphological structures of the granular sludge were also significantly different between the two types of reactors. The biodiversity, which was higher in the AnaEG reactor, was mainly affected by reactor type. However, the specific microbial community structure was determined by the type of wastewater. Furthermore, the dominant methanogens of EPW were mainly Methanosaeta and Methanobacterium, but only Methanosaeta was a major constituent in SPW. Compared with the IC reactor, characteristics common to the AnaEG reactor were smaller granules, higher biodiversity and larger proportion of unknown species. The comparison of characteristics between these two reactors not only aids in understanding the novel AnaEG reactor type, but also elucidates the effects of reactor type and wastewater type on the microbial community and sludge structure. This information would be helpful in the application of the novel AnaEG reactor.

• Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine
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• v.15 no.6
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• pp.781-791
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• 2018

BACKGROUND: Glucosamine hydrochloride (GlcN HCl) has been shown to inhibit cell growth and matrix synthesis, but not with N-acetyl-glucosamine (GlcNAc) supplementation. This effect might be related to an inhibition of critical growth factors (GF), or to a different metabolization of the two glucosamine derivatives. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the synergy between GlcN HCl, GlcNAc, and GF on proliferation and cartilage matrix synthesis. METHOD: Bovine chondrocytes were cultivated in monolayers for 48 h and in three-dimensional (3D) chitosan scaffolds for 30 days in perfusion bioreactors. Serum-free (SF) medium was supplemented with either growth factors (GF) $TGF-{\beta}$ ($5ng\;mL^{-1}$) and IGF-I ($10ng\;mL^{-1}$), GlcN HCl or GlcNAc at 1mM each or both. Six groups were compared according to medium supplementation: (a) SF control; (b) SF + GlcN HCl; (c) SF + GlcNAc; (d) SF + GF; (e) SF + GF + GlcN HCl; and (f) SF + GF + GlcNAc. Cell proliferation, proteoglycan, collagen I (COL1), and collagen II (COL2) synthesis were evaluated. RESULTS: The two glucosamines showed opposite effects in monolayer culture: GlcN HCl significantly reduced proliferation and GlcNAc significantly augmented cellular metabolism. In the 30 days 3D culture, the GlcN HCl added to GF stimulated cell proliferation more than when compared to GF only, but the proteoglycan synthesis was smaller than GF. However, GlcNAc added to GF improved the cell proliferation and proteoglycan synthesis more than when compared to GF and GF/GlcN HCl. The synthesis of COL1 and COL2 was observed in all groups containing GF. CONCLUSION: GlcN HCl and GlcNAc increased cell growth and stimulated COL2 synthesis in long-time 3D culture. However, only GlcNAc added to GF improved proteoglycan synthesis.

• Journal of Animal Science and Technology
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• v.63 no.4
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• pp.693-724
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• 2021

The in-vitro meat is a novel concept in food biotechnology comprising field of tissue engineering and cellular agriculture. It involves production of edible biomass by in-vitro culture of stem cells harvested from the muscle of live animals by self-organizing or scaffolding methodology. It is considered as efficient, environmental friendly, better ensuring public safety and nutritional security, as well as ethical way of producing meat. Source of stem cells, media ingredients, supply of large size bioreactors, skilled manpower, sanitary requirements, production of products with similar sensory and textural attributes as of conventional meat, consumer acceptance, and proper set up of regulatory framework are challenges faced in commercialization and consumer acceptance of in-vitro meat. To realize any perceivable change in various socio-economic and environmental spheres, the technology should be commercialized and should be cost-effective as conventional meat and widely accepted among consumers. The new challenges of increasing demand of meat with the increasing population could be fulfill by the establishment of in-vitro meat production at large scale and its popularization. The adoption of in-vitro meat production at an industrial scale will lead to self-sufficiency in the developed world.

• Journal of Korean Society on Water Environment
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• v.36 no.6
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• pp.535-545
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• 2020

This study aims to conserve and monitor energy use in public sewage treatment plants by utilizing data from the SCADA system and by controlling the aeration rate required for maintaining effluent water quality. Power consumption in the sewage treatment process was predicted using the equipment's uptime, efficiency, and inherent power consumption. The predicted energy consumption was calibrated by measured data. Additionally, energy efficiency indicators were proposed based on statistical data for energy use, capacity, and effluent quality. In one case study, a sewage treatment plant operated via the SBR process used ~30% of energy consumed in maintaining the bioreactors and treated water tanks (included decanting pump and cleaning systems). Energy consumption analysis with the K-ECO Tool-kit was conducted for unit processing. The results showed that about 58.7% of total energy consumed was used in the preliminary and biological treatment rotating equipment such as the blower and pump. In addition, the energy consumption rate was higher to the order of 19.2% in the phosphorus removal process, 16.0% during sludge treatment, and 6.1% during disinfection and discharge. In terms of equipment energy usage, feeding and decanting pumps accounted for 40% of total energy consumed following 27% for blowers. By controlling the aeration rate based on the proposed feedback control system, the DO concentration was reduced by 56% compared pre-controls and the aeration amount decreased by 28%. The overall power consumption of the plant was reduced by 6% via aeration control.

• Animal Bioscience
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• v.34 no.8
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• pp.1321-1330
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• 2021

Objective: Transgenic hens hold a great promise to produce various valuable proteins. Through virus transduction into stage X embryo, the transgene expression under the control of constructed chicken ovalbumin promoters has been successfully achieved. However, a validation system that can evaluate differently developed ovalbumin promoters in in vitro, remains to be developed. Methods: In the present study, chicken oviduct epithelial cells (cOECs) were isolated from oviduct tissue and shortly cultured with keratinocyte complete medium supplemented with chicken serum. The isolated cells were characterized with immunofluorescence, western blot, and flow cytometry using oviduct-specific marker. Chicken mutated ovalbumin promoter (Mut-4.4-kb-pOV) was validated in these cells using luciferase reporter analysis. Results: The isolated cOECs revealed that the oviduct-specific marker, ovalbumin protein, was clearly detected by immunofluorescence, western blot, and flow cytometry analysis revealed that approximately 79.40% of the cells contained this protein. Also, luciferase reporter analysis showed that the constructed Mut-4.4-kb-pOV exhibited 7.1-fold (p<0.001) higher activity in the cOECs. Conclusion: Collectively, these results demonstrate the efficient isolation and characterization of cOECs and validate the activity of the constructed ovalbumin promoter in the cultured cOECs. The in vitro validation of the recombinant promoter activity in cOECs can facilitate the production of efficient transgenic chickens for potential use as bioreactors.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.31 no.12
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• pp.1624-1631
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• 2021

Prodigiosin as a high-valued compound, which is a microbial secondary metabolite, has the potential for antioxidant and anticancer effects. However, the large-scale production of functionally active Hahella chejuensis-derived prodigiosin by fermentation in a cost-effective manner has yet to be achieved. In the present study, we established carbon source-optimized medium conditions, as well as a procedure for producing prodigiosin by fermentation by culturing H. chejuensis using 10 L and 200 L bioreactors. Our results showed that prodigiosin productivity using 250 ml flasks was higher in the presence of glucose than other carbon sources, including mannose, sucrose, galactose, and fructose, and could be scaled up to 10 L and 200 L batches. Productivity in the glucose (2.5 g/l) culture while maintaining the medium at pH 6.89 during 10 days of cultivation in the 200 L bioreactor was measured and increased more than productivity in the basal culture medium in the absence of glucose. Prodigiosin production from 10 L and 200 L fermentation cultures of H. chejuensis was confirmed by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS) analyses for more accurate identification. Finally, the anticancer activity of crude extracted prodigiosin against human cancerous leukemia THP-1 cells was evaluated and confirmed at various concentrations. Conclusively, we demonstrate that culture conditions for H. chejuensis using a bioreactor with various parameters and ethanol-based extraction procedures were optimized to mass-produce the marine bacterium-derived high purity prodigiosin associated with anti-cancer activity.

• Membrane Journal
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• v.33 no.4
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• pp.168-180
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• 2023

H₂ generation from renewable sources is crucial for ensuring sustainable production of energy. One approach to achieve this goal is biohydrogen production by utilizing renewable resources such as biomass and microorganisms. In contrast to commercial methods, biohydrogen production needs ambient temperature and pressure, thereby requiring less energy and cost. Biohydrogen production can reduce greenhouse gas emissions, particularly the emission of carbon dioxide (CO₂). However, it is also associated with significant challenges, including low hydrogen yields, hydrodynamic issues in bioreactors, and the need for H₂ separation and purification methods to obtain high-purity H₂. Various technologies have been developed for hydrogen separation and purification, including cryogenic distillation, pressure-swing adsorption, absorption, and membrane technology. This review addresses important experimental developments in dense polymeric membranes for biohydrogen purification.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Agriculture
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• v.42 no.3
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• pp.253-258
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• 2023

In the environment, chromium often exists in a highly mobile and toxic form of Cr(VI). Therefore, the reduction of Cr(VI) to less toxic Cr(III) is considered an effective remediation strategy for Cr(VI)-contamination. In this study, the biological reduction of hexavalent chromium was examined at the concentrations of 0.01 mM, 0.1 mM, and 1 mM Cr(VI) by the dissimilatory metal-reducing bacterium, Shewanella sp. HN-41 in the presence of ferric-citrate. With the relatively condensed cell densities, the aqueous phase Cr(VI) was reduced at the proportions of 42%, 23%, and 31%, respectively for the 0.01 mM, 0.1 mM, and 1 mM Cr(VI) incubations, while Fe(III)-citrate was reduced at 95%, 88%, and 73%, respectively. Although the strain HN-41 was not considered to reduce Cr(VI) as the sole electron acceptor for anaerobic metabolism in the preliminary experiment, it has been presumed that outer-membrane c-type cytochromes such as MtrC and OmcA reduced Cr(VI) in the presence of ferric-citrate as the electron acceptor. Since this study indicated the potential of relatively high cell density for Cr(VI) reduction, it might propose a bioremediation strategy for Cr(VI) removal from contaminated waters using engineered systems such as bioreactors employing high cell growths.

• Coupled systems mechanics
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• v.12 no.6
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• pp.531-537
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• 2023

Municipal solid waste landfills are unpredictable bioreactors which in cases of mishandling and bad supervision presents numerous risks. The key to municipal waste landfills is to approach them from the point of prevention of the possible consequences, which means using methods of organized waste disposal, and also utilizing landfill gas, as an unavoidable consequence with disposal of municipal solid waste with a high share of biodegradable organic matter. This paper presents an overview about problems of solid municipal waste management, type and composition of waste, and an overview of waste management condition. Further, the problem of landfill and landfill gasses is described with the calculation models of landfill production, as well as the use of the SWM GHG Calculator and LandGEM software on a specific example of gas production for the central zone at Sarajevo landfill "Smiljevici". Main focus of this thesis is the analysis of potentials of greenhouse gas emission reduction measures from the waste management. Overview of the best available techniques in waste management is presented as well as the methodology used for calculations. Scenarios of greenhouse gas emission reduction in waste management were defined so that emissions were calculated using the appropriate model. In the final section of the paper, its description of the problem of collection and utilization the landfill gas at the sanitary landfill "Smiljevici", and implementation of the system for landfill gas collection and solution suggestion for the gasification and exploitation of gas. Energy, environmental and economic benefits can be accomplished by utilizing municipal solid waste as fuel in industry and energy and moreover by utilizing energy generation from landfill gas, which this thesis emphasizes.