Perstraction of intracellular pigments by submerged cultivation of Monascus in nonionic surfactant micelle aqueous solution.

"Milking processing" describes the cultivation of microalgae in a water-organic solvent two-phase system that consists of simultaneous fermentation and secretion of intracellular product. It is usually limited by the conflict between the biocompatibility of the organic solvent to the microorganisms and the ability of the organic solvent to secret intracellular product into its extracellular broth. In the present work, submerged cultivation of Monascus in the nonionic surfactant Triton X-100 micelle aqueous solution for pigment production is exploited, in which the fungus Monascus remains actively growing. Permeabilization of intracellular pigments across the cell membrane and extraction of the pigments to the nonionic surfactant micelles of its fermentation broth occur simultaneously. "Milking" the intracellular pigments in the submerged cultivation of Monascus is a perstraction process. The perstractive fermentation of intracellular pigments has the advantage of submerged cultivation by secretion of the intracellular pigments to its extracellular broth and the benefit of extractive microbial fermentation by solubilizing the pigments into nonionic surfactant micelles. It is shown as the marked increase of the extracellular pigment concentration by the submerged cultivation of Monascus in the nonionic surfactant Triton X-100 micelle solution.