Production of rhamnolipid biosurfactants by Pseudomonas aeruginosa DS10-129 in a microfluidic bioreactor

Biotechnol Appl Biochem. 2010 Feb 2;55(1):45-52. doi: 10.1042/BA20090277.

Abstract

A low-cost microBR (microbioreactor) made from PTFE [poly(tetrafluoroethylene)] was used to cultivate a model organism, Pseudomonas aeruginosa DS10-129. The progress of bioprocessing was monitored by comparing the growth of the organism in a microBR, a conventional bench scale bioreactor and a shake flask. Under the microBR conditions, the organism produced 23 mg/ml of pyocyanin that had antimicrobial effects against Bacillus subtilis, Staphylococcus aureus, Staphylococcus epidermidis, Pseudomonas teessidea and Pseudomonas clemancea. Furthermore, it produced a total of 106 microg/ml of effective biosurfactants consisting of dirhamnolipids (RL2) and monorhamnolipids (RL1). The biosurfactants reduced the surface tension of distilled water from 72 to 27.9 mN/m and emulsified kerosene by 71.30%. The pyocyanin and rhamnolipids were produced during the exponential and stationary phases of growth respectively. The results of the microBR were comparable to those obtained using conventional scale methods.

Publication types

  • Evaluation Study
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Anti-Bacterial Agents / metabolism*
  • Anti-Bacterial Agents / pharmacology
  • Bacteria / drug effects
  • Bioreactors*
  • Equipment Design
  • Glycolipids / metabolism*
  • Microfluidics / instrumentation*
  • Pseudomonas aeruginosa / metabolism*
  • Pyocyanine / metabolism*
  • Pyocyanine / pharmacology
  • Surface-Active Agents / metabolism*
  • Surface-Active Agents / pharmacology

Substances

  • Anti-Bacterial Agents
  • Glycolipids
  • Surface-Active Agents
  • rhamnolipid
  • Pyocyanine