Comparison of glucose fermentation by suspended and gel‐entrapped yeast cells: An in vivo nuclear magnetic resonance study

Phosphorus-31 nuclear magnetic resonance ((31)P NMR) was used to compare the anaerobic metabolism of glucose by suspended and gel-entrapped Saccharomyces bayanus cells. The fermentation of glucose was carried out in a reaction system with continuous circulation through the NMR sample tube. The intracellular pH and the levels of some phosphorylated compounds were the levels of some phosphorylated compounds were noninvasively monitored by (31)P NMR while glucose, fermentation products, and biomass were determined by analytic techniques comparisons showed that no significant differences are observed in the relative concentrations in the spectra, but distinct profiles for the variation of both intracellular and extracellular pH are found. The internal pH of immobilized cells is maintained at a constant value throughout the fermentation as opposed to freely suspended cells for which a steady decrease in the internal pH occurs. A faster and stronger acidification is also observed in the external medium of the assays with suspended cells. Furthermore, higher yields for ethanol and biomass production and lower yields of fermentation by-products are obtained with immobilized cells. It is concluded that the higher intracellular pH achieved in the presence of the gel matrix had a regulatory effect on the metabolism which favored the ethanol production pathway.