A NOVEL MICROBIAL CELL IMMOBILIZATION PROCEDURE

INVESTIGATIONS ARE TO BE CONDUCTED ON A NEW CELL IMMOBILIZATION PROCEDURE TO PRODUCE UNIQUE BIOCATALYSTS USING LATEX COATINGS ON ACTIVATED CARBON. IN CONTRAST TO PREVIOUSLY TRIED METHODS, OUR METHOD GIVES A POROUS SUPPORT ALLOWING RAPID SUBSTRATE AND GAS TRANSFER, HAS A HARD SURFACE TO AVOID COMPRESSION IN LARGE BEDS, AND IS DENSE TO ALLOW USE IN FLUIDIZED BEDS. PHASE I STUDIES WILL CONCENTRATE ON A) DEMONSTRATING THE BROAD SPECTRUM CAPABILITIES OF THIS METHOD BY IMMOBILIZING TWO ORGANISMS (S. CEREVISIAE B. SUBTILIS) USEFUL FOR PRODUCING RECOMBINANT DNA PROTEINS AND A MONOCLONAL ANTIBODY PRODUCING HYBRIDOMA (CPG HYBRIDOMA), B) OPTIMIZING THE PROCEDURE FOR THE FIRST TWO ORGANISMS, AND C) MAKE SHORT TERM MEASUREMENTS OF BIOCATALYST LIFE. PRODUCT FORMATION (ETHANOL, L-TRYPTOPHAN, ANTIBODY) WILL BE ASSAYED BY SUITABLE ANALYTICAL TECHNIQUE TO INDICATE THE SUCCESS OF THE IMMOBILIZATION. THE ANTICIPATED RESULT FROM PHASE I WILL CHIEFLY BE A PROVEN METHOD FOR THE IMMOBILIZATION OF THREE MEDICALLY IMPORTANT MICRO-ORGANISMS. THIS RESEARCH WILL TEST THE FEASIBILITY OF THE PROPOSED CONCEPT AND WILL ALLOW US TO GATHER ADDITIONAL RESEARCH DATA IN PHASE II THAT CAN BE USED TO DESIGN COMMERCIAL CATALYST IN PHASE III. THIS TECHNOLOGY PROVIDES THE POTENTIAL FOR THE LARGE SCALE PRODUCTION OF RDNA PROTEINS AND MONOCLONAL ANTIBODIES.