Aperfeiçoamento da técnica de preparo de biocatalisador imobilizado para a obtenção de ácido lactobiônico e sorbitol em diferentes sistemas de produção

Abstract

Lactobionic acid and sorbitol have important applications in cosmetic and pharmaceutical industries. These products can be obtained in equimolar basis in reactions catalysed by glucose-fructose oxidoreductase (GFOR) and glucono-δ-lactonase (GL), enzymes that are present in the periplasm of Zymomonas mobilis. The reactions are usually conducted with immobilized bacterial cells, the preparation technique of this biocatalyst being time demanding and expensive. Some alternatives for the simplification of the preparation of calcium alginate-immobilized biocatalyst and its application in different operation modes and types of bioreactors were studied in this work, with the aim of increasing the potential of this technology to be transferred to the industrial sector. Modifications in the technique of Z. mobilis immobilization were evaluated regarding the concentrations of sodium alginate and CaCl2 solution and the time of gelification, as an attempt to improve the mechanical properties of the gel and to allow its use in repeated reactions. In this case, no significant changes in both the support resistance and the reaction evaluation parameters were observed for any condition assessed. As such, the technique remained as previously defined: sodium alginate, 2% (w/v); CaCl2, 0.3 mol/L; gelification time, from 10 to 240 minutes. The reuse of the immobilized biocatalyst for seven consecutive batches, totalling 176 hours of reaction, allowed the attainment of products (lactobionic acid and sorbitol) concentrations of about 500 mmol/L, with approximately 80% of yield and 1.12 mmol/g/h of specific productivity. The possibility of suppression of the cell permeabilization with cetyl trimethyl ammonium bromide (CTAB condition) was demonstrated, since the crosslink of Z. mobilis with glutaraldehyde (Glu condition), besides inhibiting the fermentative metabolism of carbohydrates such as glucose or fructose, allowed the bioconversion products accumulation, without affecting the catalytic activity of the enzymes. The activity of GFOR/GL for the Glu condition (35 U/g of cell) was similar to the reference condition CTAB (31 U/g). Additionally, for the immobilized process, it was found that the cell treatment with glutaraldehyde, that is usually done before immobilization (Glu Imb condition), can also be suppressed because the sole treatment of the support beads with the crosslink agent (White Imb Condition) is enough to inactivate Z. mobilis metabolism. The yields in lactobionic acid and sorbitol, independently of the condition (Glu Imb or White Imb), were about 80%, with products concentrations nearly to 500 mmol/L. The enzymes stability remained stable after 150 days of storage. Bioconversion reactions were carried out in batch mode in a mechanically stirred reactor, with 20 and 30 g/L of the immobilized biocatalyst, resulting in 530 mmol/L of products after 24 h. The process was also tested in fed-batch mode with the purpose of allowing the use of a larger mass of lactose, which could not be employed in batch because of the relatively low solubility of this carbohydrate in water. With 20 g/L of immobilized biomass, product concentrations of 745 mmol/L were obtained in 42 h, whereas with 30 g/L 32 h were needed to reach 776 mmol/L. The results for the reactions conducted in pneumatic-agitated tubular bioreactor with 20 g/L of cells, in batch and fed-batch modes, were very close to those found in the system with mechanical agitation, evidencing the flexibility of the process under this aspect