Probiotic Microorganisms for Human and Animal Healthcare

Probiotics are viable cultures of microorganisms that contribute to intestinal microbial balance and have the potential to improve the health of their human or animal host. They are also known as “direct-fed microorganisms.”

MicroBios has developed innovative, proprietary technologies and products for stabilizing probiotic cultures and maintaining their viability in liquid or solid matrices under a range of environmental conditions (including elevated temperatures).

Antagonistic Microorganisms for Biocontrol of Pathogens and Crop Disease

MicroBios is developing biological approaches to reduce/eliminate foodborne pathogens and to prevent crop disease by using various species of bacteria that are natural antagonists of microorganisms that cause disease in either humans or plants. The antagonistic bacteria, which are harmless to humans, are sprayed onto target crops to form a kind of “police colony” that keeps any potentially harmful microbes at bay.

Microorganisms for Environmental Bioremediation

MicroBios has a portfolio of microorganisms which can be used for the bioremediation of environmental pollutants. Aerobic or anaerobic microbes may be used, depending on the particular nature of the pollutant and the characteristics of the contaminated site. Please contact MicroBios if you are interested in conducting a research trial at your location, or if you would like to inquire further about or license any of our bioremediation technologies.

Microbial Surface Layer (S-Layer) Proteins for Nanobiotechnology

Surface layer (S-layer) proteins are found on the outermost surface of many prokaryotic microorganisms (i.e., bacterial and archaea) and are composed of protein (or glycoprotein) monomers with a molecular weight of 40-200 kDa depending on the particular microbial species. From a nanobiotechnological standpoint, S-layers are particularly interesting since they display a highly repetitive surface structure with nanometric lattice spacing (3-30 nm) and possess the useful ability to self-organize (either in vivo or in vitro) to form oblique (p1, p2), square (p4) or hexagonal (p3, p6) array structures only ~5-10 nm in thickness. Since S-layers can self-assemble into 2-D crystalline arrays with a wide range of suitable topological and physicochemical properties, these protein systems serve as an ideal substrate for the ‘bionanofabrication’ of nanoscale structures.

MicroBios can provide customers with purified S-layer protein monomers or protein sheets isolated from a range of different microorganisms, including:

• Deinococcus radiodurans
• Sulfolobus acidocaldarius
• Bacillus sphaericus

Deinococcus radiodurans S-layer — The D. radiodurans S-layer, also known as the ‘hexagonally packed intermediate’ (HPI) layer, has a p6 rotational symmetry with a reported spacing of 18 nm between each protein core region. The core region itself consists of six identical protein monomers (each with molecular weight = 98 kDa) enclosing a single central pore, and is in turn surrounded by six vertex regions of identical size. Recently, HPI has been shown to specifically bind citrate-capped gold nanoparticles and water-soluble semiconducting quantum dots (QDs), resulting in ordered arrays over several hundred nanometers.

Sulfolobus acidocaldarius S-layer — The S. acidocaldarius S-layer (“SAS” or “SAS S-layer”) displays a p3 symmetry structure with a reported lattice constant of 22 nm. In each core region, protein dimers are geometrically arranged into triads which surround a central pore). The overall symmetry structure across the 2-D SAS crystal can be regarded as being hexagonal, similar to the HPI S-layer. In contrast with the HPI S-layer, each hexameric core region in SAS is surrounded by six vertex regions of two distinct sizes. SAS has been shown to be a robust bionanomask for the fabrication of nanostructured arrays using a combination of physical vapor deposition and reactive ion etching processes, and is also well-suited for the creation of 2-D arrays of quantum dots.

Purchasing Information

If you would like purchasing information on any MicroBios product, or to arrange for a MicroBios representative to contact you to arrange for a detailed presentation of our products, please contact us.