Production of Coenzyme Q10 by Schizosaccharomyces Prombe in Supercritical Carbon Dioxide

Supercritical carbon dioxide (scCO
₂
) are excellent extraction solvent which has got wide applications in food processing and storage, medicine making, as well as biomaterials processing. The effects of scCO
₂
on the viability and catalytic activity of Schizosaccharomyces prombe (S.promb) and Coenzyme Q
₁₀
(CoQ
₁₀
) yield were studied. The results indicated that different kinds of co-solvent, scCO
₂
conditions and the nutrition in the medium affected S.promb activity and CoQ
₁₀
yield under scC02. Distilled water under scCO
₂
had negative effect both on the cell's activity and the production of CoQ
₁₀
, while the normal saline and the culture medium generally had a positive effect on them. The best time and pressure for CoQ
₁₀
production were 16h and 10.5 MPa. Both potassium ion and magnesium ion was beneficial for the activity of cells and the production of CoQ
₁₀
, while calcium has little positive effect on them.