þÿ<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN"> <HTML> <head> <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"> <title>JBPC Vol. 7, 2, 2007 ABSTRACT </title> </head> <body link="#0000FF"><center><h1><font color="#006600">The Journal of Biological Physics and Chemistry</font></h1></center> <p></p><p></p> <b><center>2007<p>Volume 7, Number 2, p.p. 75 78</center></b> <br> <div> <p><b><font size=+2> Biodesulfurization of dibenzothiophene by Shewanella putrefaciens NCIMB 8768 </font></b></p> <p> <b> F. Ansari,<SUP>1,*</SUP> P. Prayuenyong<SUP>2</SUP> and I. Tothill<SUP>3</SUP> </b> <br> <br> <i> <SUP>1</SUP> Microsystems & Nanotechnology Centre, Department of Materials, Cranfield University, Bedfordshire MK43 0AL, UK<BR> <SUP>2</SUP> Institute of Bioscience & Technology, Cranfield University, Cranfield Beds MK43 0AL, UK<BR> <SUP>3</SUP> Cranfield Health, Cranfield University, Bedfordshire MK43 0AL, UK </i></p> <P align=justify> The desulfurization ability of <I>Shewanella putrefaciens</I> strain NCIMB 8768 was studied and its activity profile was compared with the widely studied strain <I>Rhodococcus erythropolis</I> strain IGTS8. Dibenzothiophene (DBT) is a recalcitrant thiophenic component of fossil fuels especially among diesel blend stocks. DBT in basic salt medium (BSM) at a final concentration of 0.3, 0.6 and 0.9 mM was supplied to the microbes as the sole sulfur source. Experimental results showed that <I>S. putrefaciens,</I> similar to other biodesulfurization organisms, converted DBT to the end product 2-hydroxybiphenyl (HBP), as detected by the Gibbs assay and HPLC. Cells cultivated in medium containing 0.3 mM of DBT showed the highest desulfurization activity, with a maximum specific production rate 43.5 mmol/L of HBP. </p> <b>Keywords: </b> biodesulfurization, dibenzothiophene,<I> Shewanella putrefaciens </p> <br> </div> <p></p> <center><p><i><font size=-1><a href="jbpc20707.html">back to contents</a></font></i></p></center> </body> </html>