The study of the influence of ZnO nanoparticles on pyocyanin production - the optimization of production and the study of the physiological response of the cells

This dataset presents the in-depth analysis of the influence of zinc oxide nanoparticles on pyocyanin production.
Pyocyanin is a blue pigment produced exclusively by Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Due to its unique redox properties oit has gained more and more interest as a utile chemical. The production can be enhanced by employing various methods. In this work, we present the optimized production of pyocyanin using zinc oxide nanoparticles as a process booster and the description of the physiological state of cells under observed phenomenon.
The pyocyanin production optimization was conducted using the Design of Experiment (DoE) methodology. The results allowed for calculating the optimal process temperature and nanoparticles’ concentration. Then, optimized and control cultures were compared to understand the changes in the physiology of the cells exposed to the zinc oxide nanoparticles. Quantitative RT-PCR, flow cytometry, fluorometric and spectrophotometric assays were applied.
Low concentrations of the nanoparticles enhanced pyocyanin production, whereas higher ones stimulated biomass production and caused the abolishment of pyocyanin production. Elevated pyocyanin production in zinc oxide nanoparticles-supplemented media was sustained in the scaled-up culture. Conducted analyses confirmed that observed stimulation of pyocyanin production is a result of cellular stress. Therefore, we showed that the optimized stress can contribute to more effective production of the desired metabolite.