Micellar Effect on Itaconic Acid Production by Fermentation Process

Due to the increasing demand and focus for sustainable chemicals and fuels that are independent from fossil resources, itaconic acid gained interest and recognized for market position as a potential bio-based platform chemical. Itaconic acid can be produced via a chemical pathway or a biotechnological pathway, the more effective production way is the latter one, which is currently conducted in industrial scale production. Some Aspergillus species, like A. itaconicus and A. terreus, show the ability to synthesize this organic acid and A. terreus can secrete significant amounts to the media. Itaconic acid is an unsaturated organic acid with two carboxyls and one methyl group. The presence of these functional groups, along with a conjugated double bond makes itaconic acid a versatile molecule with a vast number of applications. In the present communication the authoress has studied efficacy of some micelles i.e. magnesium dodecyl sulfate on biological production of itaconic acid by Aspergillus terreus SS-201. It has been found that the micelles under trial i.e. magnesium dodecyl sulfate has beneficial impact and has enhanced yield of itaconic acid to an extent of 16.685% higher in comparison to control (4.429g/100ml).