화학공학소재연구정보센터
Biotechnology and Bioengineering, Vol.75, No.4, 456-462, 2001
Effects and mechanisms of H2O2 on production of dicarboxylic acid
The system of producing long chain dicarboxylic acid (DCA) by Candida tropicalis is an aerobic and viscous fermentation system. A method to overcome the gas-liquid transport resistance and to increase oxygen supply is by adding hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) to the fermentation system. Here we report that the H2O2 not only can enhance the oxygen supply but also change the metabolism by inducing cytochrome P450, the key enzyme of a, o-oxidation. When C. tropicalis was cultivated in a 3-L bioreactor using the combination of aeration and H2O2 feeding, DCA production rates increased by about 10% after a short period of decrease at the beginning. Furthermore, the experiments showed that the maximum activities of P450 could be induced at 2 mM H2O2, and the inducible mechanisms are also discussed. Moreover, we suggest that alkane might be oxidized through the "peroxide shunt pathway" when H2O2 is present. By adding H2O2, the DCA yield in a 22-L bioreactor could increase by 25.3% and reach 153.9 g/L.