• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• 제16권3호
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• pp.399-407
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• 2006

In this study, an electrical conductive carbon fiber was used as a biofilter matrix to electrochemically improve the biofilter function. A bioreactor system was composed of carbon fiber (anode), titanium ring, porcelain ring, inorganic nutrient reservoir, and VOC reservoir. Electric DC power of 1.5 volt was charged to the carbon fiber anode (CFA) to induce the electrochemical oxidation potential on the biofilter matrix, but not to the carbon fiber (CF). We tested the effects of electrochemical oxidation potential charged to the CFA on the biofilm structure, the bacterial growth, and the activity for metabolic oxidation of VOCs to $CO_2$, According to the SEM image, the biofilm structure developed in the CFA appeared to be greatly different from that in the CF. The bacterial growth, VOCs degradation, and metabolic oxidation of VOCs to $CO_2$ in the CFA were more activated than those in the CF. On the basis of these results, we propose that the biofilm structure can be improved, and the bacterial growth and the bacterial oxidation activity of VOCs can be activated by the electrochemical oxidation potential charged to a biofilter matrix.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• 제22권10호
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• pp.1406-1411
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• 2012

5,5'-Dithiobis(2-nitrobenzoic acid) (DTNB) was selected as an electron transfer mediator and was covalently immobilized onto high porosity carbon cloth to employ as a working electrode in an electrochemical $NAD^+$-regeneration process, which was coupled to an enzymatic reaction. The voltammetric behavior of DTNB attached to carbon cloth resembled that of DTNB in buffered aqueous solution, and the electrocatalytic anodic current grew continuously upon addition of NADH at different concentrations, indicating that DTNB is immobilized to carbon cloth effectively and the immobilized DTNB is active as a soluble one. The bioelectrocatalytic $NAD^+$ regeneration was coupled to the conversion of L-glutamate into ${\alpha}$-ketoglutarate by L-glutamate dehydrogenase within the same microreactor. The conversion at 3 mM monosodium glutamate was very rapid, up to 12 h, to result in 90%, and then slow up to 24 h, showing 94%, followed by slight decrease. Low conversion was shown when substrate concentration exceeding 4 mM was tested, suggesting that L-glutamate dehydrogenase is inhibited by ${\alpha}$-ketoglutarate. However, our electrochemical $NAD^+$ regeneration procedure looks advantageous over the enzymatic procedure using NADH oxidase, from the viewpoint of reaction time to completion.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• 제20권1호
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• pp.94-100
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• 2010

Zymomonas mobilis was immobilized in a modified graphite felt cathode with neutral red (NR-cathode) and Saccharomyces cerevisiae was cultivated on a platinum plate anode. An electrochemical redox reaction was induced by 3 volts of electric potential charged to the cathode and anode. The Z. mobilis produced 1.3-1.5 M of ethanol in the cathode compartment, whereas the S. cerevisiae produced 1.7-1.9 M in the anode compartment after 96 h. The ethanol produced by the Z. mobilis immobilized in the NR-cathode and S. cerevisiae cultivated on the platinum plate was 1.5-1.6 times higher than that produced under conventional conditions. The electrochemical oxidation potential inhibited Z. mobilis, but activated S. cerevisiae. The SDS-PAGE pattern of the total soluble proteins extracted from the Z. mobilis cultivated under the electrochemical oxidation conditions was gradually simplified in proportion to the potential intensity. Z. mobilis and S. cerevisiae were cultivated in the cathode and anode compartments, respectively, of an electrochemical redox combination system. The Z. mobilis culture cultivated in the cathode compartment for 24 h was continuously transferred to the S. cerevisiae culture in the anode compartment at a rate of 300 ml/day. Approx. 1.0-1.2 M of ethanol was produced by the Z. mobilis in the cathode compartment within 24 h, and an additional 0.8-0.9 M produced by the S. cerevisiae in the anode compartment within another 24 h. Thus, a total of 2.0-2.1 M of ethanol was produced by the electrochemical redox combination of Z. mobilis and S. cerevisiae within 48 h.