The influence of centrifugation on Zymomonas mobilis aggregation
Author
Perez Fernandez Palha,María de los Angeles
Edison Lopes,Carlos
Gomes de Andrade Lima,Maria Alice
Pereira Junior,Nei
Abstract
Flocculent Zymomonas mobilis breaks down in smaller flocs and individual cells when centrifuged. The main consequence of it is an increase in the dispersion of the sample, suggesting that the influence of the centrifugal force on the aggregation of cells is worth to study. The experiments showed that the degree of dispersion varied between 30% and 100% when the centrifugal acceleration changed from 25 g to 2500 g. Observation under the electronic microscope showed that a slimy material covered the cells recovered by gentle gravitational settling and, that the centrifuged cells presented a bare cell wall.