Scale-up of the production of highly reactive biogenic magnetite nanoparticles using Geobacter sulfurreducens.

ABSTRACT: Although there are numerous examples of large-scale commercial microbial synthesis routes for organic bioproducts, few studies have addressed the obvious potential for microbial systems to produce inorganic functional biomaterials at scale. Here we address this by focusing on the production of nanoscale biomagnetite particles by the Fe(III)-reducing bacterium Geobacter sulfurreducens, which was scaled up successfully from laboratory- to pilot plant-scale production, while maintaining the surface reactivity and magnetic properties which make this material well suited to commercial exploitation. At the largest scale tested, the bacterium was grown in a 50 l bioreactor, harvested and then inoculated into a buffer solution containing Fe(III)-oxyhydroxide and an electron donor and mediator, whi

SUBMITTER: Byrne JM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4590511 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature