THE INFLUENCE OF PRESSURE AND TEMPERATURE OF COMPRESSED CO2 ON THE SURVIVAL OF YEAST-CELLS

In order to study the potential use of supercritical CO2 extraction fo r the recovery of products from yeast cell cultures, the effects of CO 2 on different yeast strains over a range of pressures and temperature s have been examined. Viability was shown to be dependent on temperatu re and dissolved CO2 concentration, and can be described by a sigmoida l (S-shaped) curve. Cell death was mainly due to an 'anaesthesia effec t' rather than cell rupture. Important differences in sensitivity were observed for the strains studied, with the following order of resista nce: Kluyveromyces fragilis > Saccharomyces cerevisiae > Candida utili s.