[Study on L-malic acid catabolism by "Lactobacillus casei" cells immobilized into polyacrylamide gel lattice...

Study on L-malic acid catabolism by Lactobacillus casei cells immobilized into polyacrylamide gel lattice has shown that the pH profil of malic acid decarboxylase activity does not differ significantly from that of free cells. The apparent enzymatic constant value as determined by the Warburg manometric method is 5 X 10(-3) M for free cells and 1.25 X 10(-2) M for immobilized cells. Malic acid decarboxylase activity can be preserved in immobilized cells over a 12 month period when the reaction vessel is fed continuously with the growth medium. It is noteworthy that the reaction vessel is similar to a constant activity reactor whose apparent enzymatic constant value, of 6,25 X 10(-3) M, does not differ significantly from that of free cells. Labelling of the cells with 14C-glycin has shown that the immobilized cells released 14 per cent of the radioactivity over a 65 hour period, indicating that the cells are possibly in a non proliferating state. After 9 months of working, a large fraction of viable bacterial cells can be isolated again. The use of such a reactor for producing metabolites is proposed.