KONTINUIERLICHER AUFSCHLUSS VON MIKROORGANISMEN DURCH MECHANISCHE VERFAHREN

Abstract

In the food industry mechanical methods such as high-pressure homogenization or wet milling are used to get stable emulsions, to increase the viscosity, thus reducing the amount of stabilizers and emulsifiers required or improve other properties of the product. Products which are processed by these homogenizers are for example, dairy products, juices, sauces, sweets, creams, alcoholic beverages, additives and baby food. In recent years high-pressure homogenizers and high speed agitator bead mills have also been successfully employed for the continuous disruption of microorganisms. Cell disruption is the importantfirst step in the isolation of intracellular proteins with catalytic or biological activity. Bacteria, yeast, algae and mycelia can be disrupted effectively without harming the cell constituents. Single cell protein released from, for example, Methylomonas clara or yeast may be a new food source for animal and man. Disrupted cells also might be usable instead of whole cells in food production processes. The catalysed reactions by the cell components are muchfaster if they are notlimited by the membrane which acts as a diffusion barrier. Homogenizers are available on the market in laboratory, pilot and process scale and can be operated understerile conditions. Depending on the type of microorganism, up to 3 passes through the homogenizer are required in order to yield a high degree of disruption.