Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 4, 2026

Immobilization of Multi-biocatalysts in Alginate Beads for Cofactor Regeneration and Improved Reusability
Published on: April 22, 2016
An efficient magnetically modified microbial cell biocomposite for carbazole biodegradation
1State Key Laboratory of Microbial Technology, Shandong University, Jinan 250100, People's Republic of China. ghwx@sdu.edu.cn.
Abstract:
Magnetic modification of microbial cells enables to prepare smart biocomposites in bioremediation. In this study, we constructed an efficient biocomposite by assembling Fe3O4 nanoparticles onto the surface of Sphingomonas sp. XLDN2-5 cells. The average particle size of Fe3O4 nanoparticles was about 20 nm with 45.5 emu g-1 saturation magnetization. The morphology of Sphingomonas sp. XLDN2-5 cells before and after Fe3O4 nanoparticle loading was verified by scanning electron microscopy and transmission electronic microscopy. Compared with free cells, the microbial cell/Fe3O4 biocomposite had the same biodegradation activity but exhibited remarkable reusability. The degradation activity of the microbial cell/Fe3O4 biocomposite increased gradually during recycling processes. Additionally, the microbial cell/Fe3O4 biocomposite could be easily separated and recycled by an external magnetic field due to the super-paramagnetic properties of Fe3O4 nanoparticle coating. These results indicated that magnetically modified microbial cells provide a promising technique for improving biocatalysts used in the biodegradation of hazardous compounds.
Related Concept Videos
Microbial Bioremediation of Hydrocarbons
Microbial Bioremediation of Pesticides
Microbial Bioremediation of Plastics
Microbial Corrosion
Bioplastics
Microbial Biosensors

