• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.48 no.1
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• pp.12-23
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• 2020

Edible films containing antimicrobial agents can be used as safe alternatives to preserve food products. Essential oils are well-recognized antimicrobials. However, their low water solubility, volatility and high sensitivity to oxygen and light limit their application in food preservation. These limitations could be overcome by embedding these essential oils in complexed product matrices exploiting the encapsulation efficiency of β-cyclodextrin. This study focused on the maximization of β-cyclodextrin production using cyclodextrin glucanotransferase (CGTase) and the evaluation of its encapsulation efficacy to fabricate edible antimicrobial films. Response surface methodology (RSM) was used to optimize CGTase production by Brevibacillus brevis AMI-2 isolated from mangrove sediments. This enzyme was partially purified using a starch adsorption method and entrapped in calcium alginate. Cyclodextrin produced by the immobilized enzyme was then confirmed using high performance thin layer chromatography, and its encapsulation efficiency was investigated. The clove oil/β-cyclodextrin inclusion complexes were prepared using the coprecipitation method, and incorporated into chitosan films, and subjected to antimicrobial testing. Results revealed that β-cyclodextrin was produced as a major product of the enzymatic reaction. In addition, the incorporation of clove oil/β-cyclodextrin inclusion complexes significantly increased the antimicrobial activity of chitosan films against Staphylococcus aureus, Staphylococcus epidermidis, Salmonella Typhimurium, Escherichia coli, and Candida albicans. In conclusion, B. brevis AMI-2 is a promising source for CGTase to synthesize β-cyclodextrin with considerable encapsulation efficiency. Further, the obtained results suggest that chitosan films containing clove oils encapsulated in β-cyclodextrin could serve as edible antimicrobial food-packaging materials to combat microbial contamination.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Agriculture
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• v.28 no.4
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• pp.378-385
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• 2009

Arsenic (As) is known to be very toxic and carcinogenic to human beings. Arsenic contaminated soil was collected from a timber mill site at Busan Metropolitan City, Korea, where chromated copper arsenate (CCA) had been used to protect wood from rotting caused by insects and microbial agents. The soil was stabilized using both natural oyster shells (NOS) and calcinated oyster shells (POS). The calcination of natural oyster shells was accomplished at a high temperature in order to activate quicklime from calcite. Two different oyster shell particle sizes (-#10 mesh and -#20 mesh) and curing periods of up to 28 days were investigated. The stabilization effectiveness was evaluated based on the Korean Standard Test (KST) method (1N HCl extraction). The stabilization results showed that the POS treatment was more effective than the NOS treatment at immobilizing the As in the contaminated soils. A significant As reduction (96%) was attained upon a POS treatment at 20 wt% and passed the Korean warning standard of 20 mg/kg ('Na' area). However, an As reduction of only 47% (169 mg/kg) was achieved upon a NOS treatment at 20 wt%. The -#20 mesh oyster shells seem to perform better than the -#10 materials. The scanning electron microscopy (SEM)-energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX) results showed that As immobilization was strongly associated with Ca and O in the presence of Al and Si.

• The Korean Journal of Ecology
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• v.19 no.2
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• pp.179-189
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• 1996

Growth and nitrogen retention of Persicaria thunbergii were investigated in the wetland microcosms which contained the plants growing on soil bed. Nitrogen solution was supplied to the microcosms with the same amount of $NH_4^{+}-N\; and\; NO_3^{-}-N$ at the rates of 0.00, 0.78, 1.57, 3.14g $N{\cdot}m^{-2}{\cdor}wk^{-1}$ from May 1 to August 31, 1995. The solution was detained for 5 days to react with soil and plant and then allowed to leach. The contents of NH_4^{+}-N\;and\; NO_3^{-}-N$ in the leachate, total Kjeldahl nitrogen, plant biomass, and soil characteristics were determined. Nitrogen retained by plant was estimated as the increment of TKN in plant biomass. The addition of 0.78 and 1.57g $N{\cdot}m^{-2}{\cdot}wk^{-1}$ resulted in significant increase of plant biomass. However, plant growth was inhibited when nitrogen was added at the rate of 3.14g $N{\cdot}m^{-2}{\cdot}wk^{-1}$. Overall, the plant biomass was positively correlated with the amount of nitrogen retained by plant and soil system. The amounts of $NO_3^{-}-N$ leached from the microcosms were 5~10 times higher than those of $NH_4^{+}-N$. While total nitrogen added ranged from 143.2 to 576.5g $N/m^2$, total leaching loss of inorganic nitrogen and nitrogen retained by plant was as little as 1.04~22.71g $N/m^2$, and 5.46~12.91g $N/m^2$, respectively. Then, the plant seemed to contribute to KDICical and microbial immobilization of nitrogen in the soil. Finally, it is suggested that a large portion of nitrogen added was lost into the air by denitrification and volatilizaton, and / or leached in organic forms.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Environmental Restoration Technology
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• v.18 no.4
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• pp.63-71
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• 2015

Recently the roof gardening has become very popular and even on the apartment-veranda and on the roofs in high buildings many kinds of vegetables and berries are cultivated. And the demand of the nutritional supplement for the effective plant growth is also increasing. The general urban conditions are to be adapted for plant growth. A different hygroscopic and temperature-conditions after regions, sunshine and wind have strong influences on the plant growth and usually it is not optimal enough. It is because why a nutritional condition in soil for plant growth so important and essential. The usual compound-soil or -fertilizer cannot offer enough quantities of nutrients for plant growth and additional soil conditioner becomes more necessary. There are many kinds of soil conditioners like hydrogel in the market and we studied on Geohumus, Montigel and Geko, which are widely used in Europe and other countries. Water absorption and microbial immobilization with effective microorganisms were tested and compared. The EM solution was identified as bacteria, fungi and azotobacter etc. and they were immobilized at the soil conditioners at first. And the cultivated and immobilized at the soil conditioners EM-solution was added to the plant soil. 1 g of the soil conditioners absorbed ca. 20 g of water. The plant grew 10 cm more, got 3 times more branches and 2 times more fruits in the soil with soil conditioners immobilized with microorganisms. With water addition the plant with both conditions in the soil could stay fresh in comparison to without soil conditioners.

• Korean Journal of Food Science and Technology
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• v.37 no.2
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• pp.318-320
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• 2005

Lactobacillus reuteri residing in human and animal intestines converts glycerol into reuterin (antimicrobial substance) in anaerobic condition. Attempt was made to increase production efficiency of L. reuteri by employing immobilized cells. L. reuteri was immobilized in agarose beads, which were then reacted with 250 mM glycerol solution. Batch-type production of reuterin with immobilized cells (0.5% agarose beads) lasted for about 36 h, although reuterin production decreased with passage of time. In continuous-type production, period of reuterin production with immobilized cells was extended about twofold and production ratio increased 1.5-fold (502 mM) compared with suspended cells (315 mM). Maximum concentration of reuterin reached 47 mM at 80 min after reaction with glycerol solution. Results of this study indicate that immobilization of Lactobacillus reuteri in agarose beads increased reuterin production.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Agriculture
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• v.28 no.1
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• pp.20-24
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• 2009

This study was conducted to investigate the roles of co-existed organic materials (OM) with different biodegradability in composting of cattle manure in terms of $CO_2$ emission and $NH_3$ volatilization. Either sawdust (SD, low biodegradability) or rice bran (RB, high biodegradability) was mixed with cattle manure at a various rate and the amounts of $CO_2$ emission and $NH_3$ volatilization were determined periodically during 4 weeks of composting. Percentage of dry matter loss during the composting period was also calculated. The amount of $CO_2$ emitted increased with increasing rate of OM and was significantly (P<0.01) higher in the RB treatment than in the SD treatment by 43 to 122% depending on the rate of OM Accordingly, % of dry matter loss during 4 weeks of composting was higher in the RB (rang: from 35.1 % to 41.5%) than that in the SD treatments (from 18.7% to 22.6%), showing that RB is more biodegradable than SD. During the early composting period up to 8 days, negligible amount of ammonia volatilization was detected in both treatments regardless of application rates. In the RB treatment, substantial amount of ammonia volatilization was detected thereafter, however, no meaningful ammonia volatilization was observed in the SD treatment until the end of composting. Such differences could be attributed to the different properties of SD and RB. For example, the high C/N ratio of SD could enhance $NH_4^+$ immobilization and thus decrease $NH_4^+$ concentration that is susceptible to ammonia volatilization. Binding of $NH_4^+$ on to phenolic compounds of SD may also contribute to the decrease in $NH_4^+$ concentration. Meanwhile, as RB has a relatively low C/N ratio, remineralization of immobilized $NH_4^+$ could increase $NH_4^+$ concentration as high as the level for the occurrence of ammonia volatilization. Therefore, our study suggests that OM which is resistant to biodegradation can reduce $NH_3$ volatilization largely by physico-chemical pathways across the entire composting period and that easily biodegradable OM can retard $NH_3$ volatilzation via microbial immobilization in the early period of composting followed by rapid remineralization, leading to substantial volatilization of $NH_3$ in the middle stage of composting.

• Korean Journal of Soil Science and Fertilizer
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• v.36 no.6
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• pp.376-383
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• 2003

To utilize composts more efficiently, combining composts with fertilizer to meet crop requirements is an appealing alternative. A pot experiment was conducted to study the effect of application rate of composted pig manure blended with fertilizer on the availability and loss of fertilizer-N. Chinese cabbage (Brassica campestris L. cv. Samjin) plants were cultivated for 30 and 60 days. 15N-Labeled urea ($5.24\;^{15}N\;atom\;%$) was added to soil at $450mg\;N\;kg^{-1}$, and unlabeled compost ($0.37\;^{15}N\;atom\;%$) was added at 0, 200, 400, and $600mg\;N\;kg^{-1}$. The amount of plant-N derived from urea was not affected by compost application at rate of $200mg\;N\;kg^{-1}$. However, compost application at 400 and $600mg\;N\;kg^{-1}$ significantly (P<0.05) increased plant assimilation of N from urea irrespective of sampling time, probably because of physicochemical changes in the soil properties allowing urea-N to be assimilated more efficiently. The amount of immobilized urea-N increased with increasing rate of compost application at both growth periods, as the results of increased microbial activities using organic C in the compost. Total recovery of urea-N (as percentage of added N) by Chinese cabbage and soil also increased with increasing rate of compost from 71.5 to 95.6% and from 67.0 to 88.2% at the 30- and 60-days of growth, respectively. These results suggest that increasing rate of compost blending increases plant uptake of fertilizer-N and enhances immobilization of fertilizer-N, which leads to decrease in loss of fertilizer-N. However, information about the fate of immobilized N during future crop cultivation is necessary to verify long-term effect of compost blending.

• Applied Biological Chemistry
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• v.44 no.3
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• pp.185-190
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• 2001

Alginate, a well-known biopolymer, is universally applied for immobilization of microbial cells. Biosorption characteristics of lead by waste biomass of immobilized A. niger beads, used in fermentation industries to produce citric acid, were studied. The immobilized A. niger beads, prepared via capillary extrusion method using calcium chloride, were applied in the removal of lead. Pb uptake was the highest in A. niger beads cells grown for 3 days with medium producing citric acid (12% sucrose, 0.5% $NH_4NO_3$, 0.1% $KH_2PO_4$, and 0.025% $MgSO_4$). Lead uptake by the immobilized A. niger beads and free A. niger mycellia beads increased sharply with time. However, while uptake by the immobilized A. niger beads continued to increase slowly, that by free A. niger mycellia beads stopped after 30 min. The optimum pH and temperature of lead uptake were found to be 6 and $35^{\circ}C$, respectively. The maximum uptake of lead was achieved with $50{\sim}100$ beads and 50 ml lead solution in a 250-ml Erlenmeyer flask, while, at over 100 beads, uptake of the lead decreased. The order of biosorption capacity for heavy metals was Pb>Cu>Cd. Pb uptake capacity of the immobilized A. niger beads treated with 0.1 M $CaCI_2$, 0.1 M NaOH, and 0.1 M KOH decreased compared to the untreated beads. On testing the desorption of Pb from the immobilized A. niger beads, re-uptake of Pb was found possible after desorption of the binding metal with 0.1 M HCI.

• Journal of Korean Society of Environmental Engineers
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• v.31 no.8
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• pp.603-610
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• 2009

This research was performed to improve removal efficiency of toluene and methyl ethyl ketone (MEK) using Candida tropicalis, one of the yeast species. An airlift loop bioreactor (ALB) was employed to enhance the capability of mass transfer for toluene and MEK from the gas phase to the liquid, microbial phase. Polymer gel media made from PAC, alginate and PEG was applied for the effective immobilization of the yeast strain on the polymer gel media. The experimental results indicated that the mass transfer coefficient of toluene without polymer gel media was 1.29 $min^{-1}$ at a gas retention time of 15 sec, whereas the KLa value for toluene was increased to 4.07 $min^{-1}$ by adding the media, confirming the enhanced mass transfer of volatile organic compounds between the gas and liquid phases. The removal efficiency of toluene and MEK by using yeast-immobilized polymer gel media in the ALB was greater than 80% at different pollutant loading rates (5, 10, 19 and 37 g/$m^3$/hr for toluene, 4.5, 8.9, 17.8 and 35.1 g/$m^3$/hr for MEK). In addition, an elimination capacity test conducted by changing inlet loading rates stepwise demonstrated that maximum elimination capacities for toluene and MEK were 70.4 and 56.4 g/$m^3$/hr, respectively.

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.9 no.4
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• pp.197-205
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• 1981

Penicillin amidase of Bacillus megaterium was recovered from the fermentation broth by adsorption on celite and immobilized by entrapping the adsorbed enzyme in acrylamide gel. The operational stability in column reactor was greatly increased by entrappment as compared with that of without entrappment. The optimum pH of the immobilized enzyme was 8.7 with broader activity profile than that of the free enzyme, while the most stable pH range appeared to be between pH 7.5 and 8.0. The optimum temperature was shifted to 5$0^{\circ}C$ from 45$^{\circ}C$ for the soluble enzyme. The values of Km and the inhibition constants for 6-APA( $K_{ia}$ ) and phenylacetic acid ( $K_{ip}$ ), were 4.55 mM, 36.5mM, and 10.5mM, respectively. No significant internal pore diffusion limitation was found since the value of effectiveness factor was 0.95. The operational half life in a column reactor at pH 8.0 was 6.8 days at 4$0^{\circ}C$ and 47 days at 3$0^{\circ}C$, whereas that of without entrappment was only 1 day and 4 days, respectively. The performance of a batch and a column reactor was also discussed with respect to the productivity. The results demonstrated that the entrappment of an adsorbed enzyme for the enhancement of the operational stability of the immobilized enzyme was useful especially when an extracellular enzyme was used.