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Kombucha culture could be the key to better water purification


Refreshing Kombucha Follow a recent newspaper Published in the journal of the American Chemical Society Country ACS ES&T. Experiments by researchers at Montana Technological University (MTU) and Arizona State University (ASU) show that membranes grown from kombucha are better able to prevent biofilm formation – a significant challenge in water purification – compared with today’s commercial membranes.

Like we were previously reported, you need three basic ingredients to make kombucha. Simply combine tea and sugar with a kombucha culture method known as SCOBY (symbiotic culture of bacteria and yeast). This mushroom is also known as the “mother”, tea mushroom, tea mushroom, or Manchurian mushroom. (Kombucha tea is believed to have originated in Manchuria, China, or possibly Russia.)

Whatever you call it, it’s basically the same as a sourdough starter. SCOBY is a strong, gel-like assembly of cellulose fibers (biofilms) that, thanks to bacteria acting in a culture medium, create the perfect breeding ground for yeasts and bacteria. Dissolve the sugar in unchlorinated boiling water, then steep some tea leaves of your choice in the hot sugar water before discarding them.

When the tea cools, add the SCOBY and pour the whole thing into a sterilized cup or jar. Then, cover the cup or jar with a paper towel or cheesecloth to prevent insects, let it sit for two to three weeks and voilà! You have homemade kombucha. A new SCOBY “daughter” will float right on top of the liquid (technically, in this form known as a cell layer).

In addition to its popularity as a beverage, kombucha holds promise as a useful biomaterial. Eg, scientists at MIT and Imperial College London last year create new kinds of “living materials” among SCOBYs that could one day be used as biosensors. These materials could help purify water or detect damage to “smart” packaging materials. Scientists cannot use wild yeasts commonly used in kombucha because the yeast is difficult to genetically modify. Instead, the researchers used lab-grown yeast, specifically a strain called Saccharomyces cerevisiae, or brewer’s yeast. They combine brewer’s yeast with a type of bacteria called Komagataeibacter rhaeticus (can produce a lot of cellulose) to create their “mother” SCOBY.

That team was able to engineer cells in yeast to make glow-in-the-dark enzymes that can sense pollutants and then break them down once detected. One of their prototype materials senses contaminant estradiol, while another can detect luciferase, a bioluminescent protein. Any number of other strains can be swapped to achieve different functional properties.

And now we have the capability of SCOBY-based water filters. According to the authors of this latest paper, contaminated drinking water is linked to the deaths of 2,000 children globally every day. Commercial polymer-based filters are compact and versatile, and they can remove many dangerous contaminants, including bacteria, parasites, and even some viruses. However, the pores of these filters eventually become clogged, reducing filtration rate and water flow, due to the accumulation of clay, oils, minerals, and bacterial biofilms. The latter are particularly persistent and difficult to remove once they form. Scientists are developing materials, methods and chemical treatments to counteract the adhesion of biofilms to filters. But perhaps a more promising strategy would be to focus on developing materials that inhibit bacterial growth. That’s where Kombucha SCOBY comes in.



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