Developing an efficient bacterial production of the gellan hydrocolloid

胶体产品国际公司(GPI)是生产和分销糖基稳定剂和增稠剂(称为亲水胶体)的市场领先者，该公司已与约克大学合作，以确定和优化亲水胶体结冷胶的替代生产策略。结冷胶是由神经鞘氨醇单胞菌产生的，是FDA批准的天然素食/清真/犹太增稠剂和稳定剂，用于食品工业。遗憾的是，目前的商业工艺生产的结冷胶要么功能性较低(粘度分布、凝胶强度、相对分子质量、化学成分/纯度较差)，要么成本非常高。GPI和约克大学之间的研究伙伴关系试图通过表征结冷胶合成的关键驱动因素来确定一种改进的结冷胶生产方法。在目前的应用中开展的研究将集中在(1)为高效生产高质量结冷胶制定详细的标准操作程序，以及(2)设计和实施基于分析光散射的分析方法来监测结冷胶的生产和产品质量。这项研究将进一步制定冷冻胶生产战略，通过GPI向食品行业销售，从而显著拓宽现有市场和开拓新市场。

Gum Products International (GPI), a market leader in the production and distribution of sugar-based stabilizers and thickeners (known as hydrocolloids), has partnered with York University to identify and optimize alternative production strategies of the hydrocolloid gellan gum. Gellan is produced by the bacteria Sphingomonas elodea and is a natural, FDA approved, vegan/halal/kosher thickening and stabilizing agent used in the food industry. Current commercial processes unfortunately produce gellan gums that are either low in functionality (poor viscosity profiles, gel strength, molecular weight, chemical composition/purity) or are very high in cost. The research partnership between GPI and York University seeks to determine an improved method for gellan production through a characterization of the key drivers of gellan synthesis. Research undertaken in the current application will focus on (1) development on a detailed standard operating procedure for efficient production of high quality gellan and (2) design and implementation of an analytical light scattering-based assay to monitor gellan production and product quality. This research will further develop a gellan production strategy for marketing by GPI to the food industry, resulting in a significant broadening of current markets and exploitation of new markets.