PCL/PEG based membranes for bacterial cells immobilization stimulate actinorhodin antibiotic production in S. coelicolor

The actinomycetes, Gram-positive filamentous bacteria, are the most prolific source of natural antibiotics. At industrial level, antibiotics from actinomycetes are usually produced at low levels by mean of fermentative processes in submerged cultivations, where one of the major factors negatively affecting bioproductivity is the phenomenon of a pellet-shaped biomass growth. The strategies based on cell-immobilization, which were already proven improving bacterial bioprocess productivity, could stimulate antibiotic production in actinomycetes.