The Ohio State University

Other

Dow Global Technolgoies LLC

Shang-Tian Yang

Nedim Albayrak

Yunling Bai

Christopher C Stowers

Brandon A Rodriguez

Jingbo Zhao

Mingrui Yu

Wei-Cho Huang

Xudong Zhang

Ehab Ammar

Yuan Wen

A method is provided for making a banana or plantain product comprising providing at least one unpeeled banana or plantain comprising banana or plantain peel and banana or plantain pulp, subjecting the at least one unpeeled banana or plantain to a heat treatment at a temperature and for a time sufficient to gelatinize starch present in the at least one unpeeled banana or plantain to form at least one heat treated unpeeled banana or plantain, and comminuting the at least one heat treated unpeeled banana or plantain to form a banana or plantain puree. A functional food ingredient is also provided comprising a banana or plantain puree including banana or plantain pulp and optionally banana or plantain peel. Foods containing banana or plantain puree or powder are provided, including crackers, snack bars, cereals, smoothies, and cookies.

Process for producing N-propanol and propionic acid using metabolically engineered propionibacteria

This invention relates to compositions, systems, and methods for producing biofuels, such as butanol, and related compounds. More specifically, provided are methods of making recombinant microorganizms having non-naturally occurring metabolic pathways for the production of biofuels, and methods of producing biofuels using such organizms. Also provided are metabolically engineered microorganizms capable of producing butanol from a substrate.

Metabolic engineering of clostridium tyrobutyricum for butanol production

Protein binding onto a polymeric surface is enhanced by treating the surface with an amine-bearing polymer like poly(ethylene imine). When used in ELISA, the treated surface improves the performance of the assay.

Aminated materials for assays

The methods generally relate to three-dimensional culturing of cells with the steps of seeding a cell support structure in a device with at least one vessel for cell culture having a bottom, at least one wall and a cell support structure for three-dimensional cell culture. The cell support structure is inside the at least one vessel and the device is configured such that assays can be performed. Devices for performing cell culture and assays are also provided. It will be understood that the devices can have many different suitable configurations. In general, the devices are selected such that they can be used with suitable radiation based assays.

Materials and methods for cell-based assays

Adaptive engineering of microorganisms to create mutants exhibiting high butanol tolerance and productivity. Mutant strains are obtained through the fermentation of parental strains in a fibrous bed bioreactor in the presence of butanol. Also provided are methods of producing butanol using mutant strains in ABE fermentation. Butanol production may be furthered by gas stripping and distillation. Also provided are mutant proteins for increasing butanol production in a microorganism.

Adaptive engineering of clostridium for increased butanol production

Methods are provided for producing esters. The methods comprise converting a fermentable carbon source to organic acids by fermentation with organic acid producing microorganisms, followed by catalytic esterification. The methods comprise integrated fermentation, extraction, and esterification reactions wherein the organic acids produced during fermentation are extracted into an extraction solvent and then directly reacted with an alcohol in the presence of a catalyst to form organic esters. Methods of producing esters are also provided wherein the organic acids produced during fermentation and extracted into the extraction solvent are stripped from the extraction solvent prior to being reacted with an alcohol in the presence of a catalyst to form organic esters.

Methods and processes for producing esters

A microfluidic chip comprises a substrate and a channel or multiple channels in the substrate. Each channel includes a tortuous path section or multiple tortuous path sections. A receptor for the detection of an analyte can be immobilized in a tortuous path section, for example by adsorption. Different receptors can be immobilized in different tortuous path sections of each channel or in different channels for simultaneous detection of multiple analytes. The chip is especially useful for running immunoassays, particularly ELISA.

Microfluidic chips for rapid multiplex ELISA

A multilayer enzyme immobilization process is provided comprising adsorbing a polyethyleneimine (PEI) solution in a fibrous matrix, and adding an enzyme to the fibrous matrix, which comprises a plurality of fibrils. The process further comprises forming at least two layers of PEI-enzyme aggregates on the fibrils, and cross-linking the multilayer PEI-enzyme aggregates. The process can further comprise washing the fibrils containing the cross-linked PEI-enzyme aggregates with distilled water and acetic acid buffer subsequent to cross-linking. However, the PEI-containing matrix is not washed prior to the addition of enzyme. The enzyme can be &#x3b2;-galactosidase and the fibrous matrix can be cotton cloth. The multilayer immobilized enzyme can be employed in a biocatalyst reactor for production of galacto-oligosaccharides from lactose and the hydrolysis of lactose to glucose and galactose.

Immobilization of enzyme on a fibrous matrix

The present invention includes a process for separating cells from a liquid media, a method of fermentation using such a separation, and an apparatus for conducting such a separation or for facilitating a cellular reaction. In broadest terms, the separation process of the present invention is a process for separating cells from a liquid containing cells. The process comprises the steps of: (a) bringing the liquid containing the cells into contact with one or more microbial polysaccharide and a fibrous material so as to adsorb the cells onto the fibrous material; and (b) separating the liquid from the fibrous material so as to remove the cells from the liquid. The process of the present invention may be used to remove cells from any liquid, but such liquids typically will be aqueous solutions, such as growth media, biological fluids, diagnostic samples, aqueous test samples, etc.

Apparatus for separating cells and producing microbial polysaccharides

The present invention includes a process for separating cells from a liquid media. In broadest terms, the separation process of the present invention is a process for separating cells from a liquid containing cells. The process comprises the steps of: (a) bringing the liquid containing the cells into contact with one or more microbial polysaccharide and a fibrous material so as to adsorb the cells onto the fibrous material; and (b) separating the liquid from the fibrous material so as to remove the cells from the liquid. The process of the present invention may be used to remove cells from any liquid, but such liquids typically will be aqueous solutions, such as growth media, biological fluids, diagnostic samples, aqueous test samples, etc.

Process of separation of cells from liquid by adsorption onto fiber

Apparatus and method for converting organic materials such as sugars and acids into other organic materials such as organic acids and salts other than the starting materials with immobilized cells. The invention is applicable to the conversion of the lactose content of whey, whey permeate or other lactose containing solutions and wastes into lactic acid, propionic acid, acetic acid, and their salts. The fermentation cells may be homolactic, homoacetic and propionic bacteria. The cells are immobilized onto the surface of and within convoluted sheets of a fibrous support material and reactant bearing fluids are caused to flow between the opposing surfaces of such convoluted sheets. Lactose containing solutions such as whey and whey permeate may be co-fermented with homolactic and homoacetic bacteria to acetic acid or acetate. The product may be extracted from its aqueous media by high distribution coefficient solvents particularly trioctylphosphine oxide and long-chain aliphatic secondary, tertiary and quaternary amines. The process and apparatus are particularly amenable to the economical production of calcium magnesium acetate and potassium acetate, which are useful as road deicing and anti-icing agents. The process and apparatus are also amenable to the economical production of calcium propionate and sodium lactate, which are useful as food preservatives.

Growing community of inventors

Dublin, OH, United States of America

Shang-Tian Yang