CHARACTERIZATION OF MICROBIAL CELL-SURFACE HYDROPHOBICITY

Hydrophobic properties of the surface of microbial cells can be described by parameters that determine the equilibrium of cell adsorption on liquid hydrocarbon: the constant of sorption equilibrium, the maximal number of adsorptive cells, and also the coefficient of cell distribution (K-d) between the aqueous and hydrocarbon phases, which can be either calculated from the equation of the adsorption isotherm or determined experimentally. It is shown that K-d is a more informative characteristic of the cell surface hydrophobicity than the percentage of hydrophobicity commonly used in literature. The results of this study can be used in the screening of microbial strains and when tackling the problems of industrial microbiology related to the fixation of cells on differently structured carriers.