Microalgae are used in flocculation processes because biopolymers released into the culture medium. Microalgal cell growth under specific conditions (temperature, pH, luminosity, nutrients, and salinity) provides production release of exopolysaccharides (EPS). These can be recovered from medium for application as bioflocculants or directly cultivation microalgae autoflocculants. The optimizatio...

AIMS Polysaccharide intercellular adhesin (PIA) is the main agglutination agent in the biofilm forming strain Staphylococcus epidermidis. To find an explanation for the observed inhibition of biofilm formation by allicin, we studied the effect of allicin on PIA production in samples treated with sub MIC doses of allicin and compared this with a control culture without allicin. METHODS AND RES...

The human pathogenic fungus Cryptococcus neoformans has a large polysaccharide (PS) capsule and releases copious amounts of PS into cultures and infected tissues. The capsular PS is a major virulence factor that can elicit protective antibody responses. PS recovered from culture supernatants has historically provided an ample and convenient source of material for structural and immunological st...

In the last decades, research has focused on the capabilities of microbes to secrete exopolysaccharides (EPS), because these polymers differ from the commercial ones derived essentially from plants or algae in their numerous valuable qualities. These biopolymers have emerged as new polymeric materials with novel and unique physical characteristics that have found extensive applications. In mari...

During 1984, 35 patients undergoing continuous peritoneal dialysis experienced 77 cases of peritonitis with 55 cases (71.4%) related to staphylococci. Coagulase-negative staphylococci were isolated in 41 cases, while Staphylococcus aureus was found in 14. A coexisting tunnel infection was more often associated with S. aureus (7/14) than with coagulase-negative staphylococci (2/41) (P less than ...