Cells Cultivation System and Preparation of the Purple Membranes for Bionanotechnology
ABSTRACT: The purple membranes (PM) of the Halobacterium salinarum cells and bacteriorhodopsin (major retinal-containing trans-membrane protein of these bacteria are the most promising photosensitive biopolymers in terms of bionanotechnology, developing photosensitive devices, etc. The article is devoted to the improvement of the cultivation system for Halobacterium salinarum cells and the PM production; the study of the properties and functional characterization of bacteriorhodopsin - the biological components of the bionanomaterials. The optimal conditions for the production of the biomass are the following: the volume of incubation media must be 10% of the working volume (the volume of the cuvette); the cell “age” must be close to the end of the exponential phase of growth; the lighting must be maximum (4 light bulbs LD-20); the temperature must be 37°С; the time must be 8 days; the aeration must be 0.45 (L air)/(L of environment)/min. The yield of the product is about 5 g of biomass containing 45 mg of bacteriorhodopsin. The purple membranes and their major protein - bacteriorhodopsin were obtained with the required parameters.