A suitable nanofiber sheet was formulated and developed based on its efficacy in the immobilization of recombinant Escherichia coli (E. coli) to enhance xylitol production. The effects of different types of nanofibers and solvents on cell immobilization and xylitol production were studied. The most applicable nanofiber membrane was selected via preliminary screening of four types of nanofiber membrane, followed by the selection of six different solvents. Polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) nanofiber sheet synthesized using dimethylformamide (DMF) solvent was found to be the most suitable carrier for immobilization and xylitol production. The thin, beaded PVDF (DMF) nanofibers were more favourable for microbial adhesion, with the number of immobilized cells as high as 96 × 106 ± 3.0 cfu/ml. The attraction force between positively charged PVDF nanofibers and the negatively charged E. coli indicates that the electrostatic interaction plays a significant role in cell adsorption. The use of DMF has also produced PVDF nanofibers biocatalyst capable of synthesizing the highest xylitol concentration (2.168 g/l) and productivity (0.090 g/l/h) and 55-69% reduction in cell lysis compared with DMSO solvent and free cells. This finding suggests that recombinant E. coli immobilized on nanofibers shows great potential as a whole-cell biocatalyst for xylitol production.
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