Production of Neomycin Using Immobilized Cells of Streptomyces marinensis and It’s Antimicrobial Activity

The use of immobilized whole cell is promising and advantageous in several cases. The mutant strain of Streptomyces marinensis was grown on Potato Agar Medium. Among various supporting matrices studied so far for whole-cell immobilization of S marinensis, calcium alginate was found to be a better entrapment matrix for neomycin production. The effect of several parameters, such as the effect of alginate concentration, the effect of cation, the concentration of cation, and the curing times, on neomycin production and bead stability were studied. The Neomycin production started after 24 hours fermentation and reached a minimum level by 120 hours (1245 mg/1). On further incubation, there was no appreciable change in Neomycin liter. Finally, Minimum Inhibitory Concentrations (MICs) of Ihe produced Neomycin was assayed against major Bacterial groups. The MICs for E.coli at a high inoculum density was 64 /μg/ml under aerobic conditions and 128 /μg/ml under anaerobic conditions. The latter value was higher than those of other intestinal organisms.