Enhanced disruption of Candida utilis using enzymatic pretreatment and high‐pressure homogenization

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Abstract
The enhancement of the overall disruption of a native strain of Candida utilis (ATCC 9226) was studied using a combination of two methods, namely, pretreatment in the form of partial enzymatic lysis by Zymolyase followed by mechanical disruption in a Microfluidizer high‐pressure homogenizer. The cells were grown in both batch and continuous cultures to examine the effect of specific growth rate on disruption. Cell suspensions ranging in concentration from 7 to 120 g DW/L were disrupted with and without enzymatic pretreatment. For yeast grown in batch culture, final total disruption obtained using the combined protocol approached 95% with four passes at a pressure of 95 MPa, as compared with only 65% disruption using only mechanical homogenization. A modified model was developed to predict the fraction disrupted by the enzymatic pretreatment‐mechanical homogenization two‐stage process. Predicted disruptions agreed favorably with experimental observations (maximum deviation of 20%) over a wide range of operating conditions. © 1994 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.