Re: [DIYbio] Re: Could I harvest bacteria and fungi for cleaning agents at home?

Wild B.subtilis produces surfactin in acceptable amounts. It's a
peptide-based surfacant, though I imagine it's a bit harsh for use on
skin or clothes. Other related strains (which should probably be called
B.subtilis if it weren't for what appears to be a "gold-rush" of species
naming rights) which also occur globally are known to produce more or
less surfactin and other byproducts.

B.subtilis in stationary phase also produces lots of proteases, which
might be helpful in digesting away some stains.. but would probably ruin
silk! :P

On 06/11/12 07:52, Xabier Vázquez Campos wrote:
> You can use lipid accumulating microorganisms such *Lipomyces starkeyi *and
> *Cryptococcus curvatus *which can accumulate up to 40-70% of dry weight as
> lipids and make soap. More info in this document<http://www-06.all-portland.net/bst/030/1047/0301047.pdf>
> .
>
> Or, you can try to isolate biosurfactant-producing microorganisms and use
> their surfactants. Many commercial detergents include surfactants of
> microbial origin. The problem would be isolate the microorganism of
> interest (and non-pathogenic). Probably, starting with a minimal medium
> adding diesel as sole carbon source, 1-2 weeks incubation, isolation in
> rich medium and test surfactant properties of isolates in pure cultures.
> If you know any place affected by oil, diesel, gasoline,... spill or a soil
> close to a petrol station, are good source samples to get faster and higher
> output.
>
> El martes, 6 de noviembre de 2012 01:47:40 UTC+11, Cathal escribió:
>>
>> Problem: most cellular lipids are, AFAIK, *phospho*lipids. That is, one
>> end is conjugated to a highly charged phosphate group, which allows the
>> lipids to form soluble micelles instead of clumping into droplets of
>> insoluble oil that can be separated by burette.
>>
>> To extract "oil" from cellular paste, you might be able to find an
>> enzyme that cleaves this phosphate group from the phospholipids, leading
>> to a mix of insoluble fatty acids and free phosphate; this would give
>> you oil for your saponification (soap) and free phosphate as a
>> fertiliser, although I wouldn't recommend simply adding it to the soil
>> as it would be far too strong and prone to runoff. Feeding the
>> phosphate-rich byproduce to aero/hydro-ponic plants, or simply letting
>> it get digested into more complex cellular matter by bacteria or fungi
>> before use as compost, might be wiser.
>>
>> On 05/11/12 02:24, Ulysses1994XF04 wrote:
>>> That seems like a pretty good idea! But what about during fall and
>> winter?
>>> I was thinking bacteria and fungus because I could just grow it indoors
>> all
>>> year round; perhaps if I built some indoor hydroponic system, I could
>>> plants indoors as well. What are some good, small oily plants?
>>>
>>> Also, how would you effectively harvest their oils and lipids? I was
>>> thinking maybe column chromatography? Maybe buy a buret online and some
>>> silica gel, pack it and run it through to separate oils from the cell
>>> components? Would that work? What kind of mobile phase would I need?
>>>
>>
>> --
>> www.indiebiotech.com
>> twitter.com/onetruecathal
>> joindiaspora.com/u/cathalgarvey
>> PGP Public Key: http://bit.ly/CathalGKey
>>
>

--
www.indiebiotech.com
twitter.com/onetruecathal
joindiaspora.com/u/cathalgarvey
PGP Public Key: http://bit.ly/CathalGKey

--
-- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups DIYbio group. To post to this group, send email to diybio@googlegroups.com. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to diybio+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com. For more options, visit this group at https://groups.google.com/d/forum/diybio?hl=en
Learn more at www.diybio.org
---
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "DIYbio" group.
To post to this group, send email to diybio@googlegroups.com.
To unsubscribe from this group, send email to diybio+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com.
Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/diybio?hl=en.
For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out.