1.

2. Methods of yeast immobilization evaluated included collagen casting, acetic

acid,lactic acid cellulose microencapsulation, chitosan/glutar-aldehyde molding,
carrageenan-entrapping method, and calcium alginate gel-entrapping. Of these, the
calcium alginate gel-entrapping method was preferred because of its high enzymatic
activity, simple manner of preparation, and stability. Preparation of a uniform calcium
alginate gel, necessitated maintaining the viscosity of the mixture of calcium alginate
and yeast cells between 1000 and 2000 cps. The addition of a nonionic surfactant and
an unsaturated fatty acid at the time of gelling was also found to improve cell
retention and enzyme activity.
3. Bacterial population growth studies require inoculation of viable cells into a sterile
broth medium and incubation of the culture under optimum temperature, pH, and
gaseous conditions. Under these conditions, the cells will reproduce rapidly and the
dynamics of the microbial growth can be charted by means of a population growth
curve, which is constructed by plotting the increase in cell numbers versus time of
incubation and can be used to delineate stages of the growth cycle. It also facilitates
measurement of cell numbers and the rate of growth of a particular organism under
standardized conditions as expressed by its generation time, the time required for a
microbial population to double.
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