(7). Freshly prepared MRS broth was supplemented with 0, 1, 2, and 3 mg/ml concentration selleckchem of oxgall as a bile source (Sigma, St Louis, MO, USA). A filter-sterilized cholesterol solution

(10 mg/ml in ethanol) was added to the broth to a final concentration of 100 μg/ml, inoculated with each strain (at 2%), and incubated at 42°C for 19 and 48 hr. After the incubation period, cells were removed from the broth by centrifugation for 20 min at 10 000 ×g and 1°C. A modified colorimetric method as described by Rudel and Morris (15) was used to determine the amount of cholesterol in the resuspended cells and spent broth. The amount of cholesterol removed was estimated by subtracting the cholesterol amount in the spent broth from that in the uninoculated control broth. Cholesterol uptake was determined according to a modified method of Kimoto et al. (16). Overnight cultures

of the strains were inoculated into 10 ml of MRS broth and incubated at 42°C for 19 hr. After incubation, the cells were harvested by centrifugation for 15 min at 1800 ×g, washed twice with sterile distilled water, and resuspended in 10 ml of distilled water. The suspension was divided into two portions. The first portion was autoclaved for 15 min at 121°C to prepare heat-killed selleck chemical cells whereas the other portion was not processed (i.e. resting cells). The heat-killed cells were suspended in MRS broth containing oxgall (3 mg/ml) and cholesterol (100 μg/ml), which was previously adjusted at pH 6.8. In the case of the resting cells, they were suspended with 0.05 mol/l PBS buffer (pH 6.8) containing oxgall (3 mg/ml) and

cholesterol (100 μg/ml). The process of incubation and centrifugation was the same as above. The spent broth was assayed for cholesterol. EPS production in MRS broth supplemented with 0 μg/ml and 100 μg/ml cholesterol was determined according to modified methods of Valerie and Rawson (17) and Dubois et al. (18). Overnight cultures of the strains were inoculated with 5 ml of MRS broth supplemented with 100 μg/ml and without cholesterol. After incubation at 42°C for 19 hr, 1 ml aliquots of the samples were taken to small test tubes and Org 27569 tested for EPS production. For the immobilization procedure, modified methods of Sheu and Marshall (19) and Sultana et al. (20) were used. Overnight cultures of the strains were inoculated with 500 ml of MRS broth and incubated at 42°C for 19 hr. Tubes were centrifuged for 15 min at 5000 ×g and 1°C and washed with PBS (pH 6.2) three times. The pellet was suspended with 50 ml NaCl solution (9 g/l) and cell density was determined according to Mac Farland 6 (Bio Mérieux, Marcy l’Etoile, France) and equalized for all samples. This suspension was mixed with a sterile Na–Alginate mixture (2 mg/100 ml; Sigma-Aldrich GmbH, Steinheim, Germany) and homogenized with a magnetic mixer (Heidolph, EKT 3001, Kelheim, Germany). The cell pellet solution–alginate mixture was dropped into a sterile 0.4 mol/l CaCl2 solution with a peristaltic pump.