Gluconic Acid: Properties, Applications and Microbial Production
Sumitra Ramachandran1, Pierre Fontanille1, Ashok Pandey2 and Christian Larroche1*
1Laboratoire de Génie Chimique et Biochimique (LGCB), CUST – Université Blaise Pascal, 24, avenue des Landais, B.P. 206, F-63 174 Aubière Cedex, France
2Biotechnology Division, Regional Research Laboratory, CSIR, Trivandrum 695 019, India
Article history:
Received December 12, 2005
Accepted March 12, 2006
Key words:
gluconic acid, glucose oxidase, microbial production, Aspergillus niger
Summary:
Gluconic acid is a mild organic acid derived from glucose by a simple oxidation reaction. The reaction is facilitated by the enzyme glucose oxidase (fungi) and glucose dehydrogenase (bacteria such as Gluconobacter). Microbial production of gluconic acid is the preferred method and it dates back to several decades. The most studied and widely used fermentation process involves the fungus Aspergillus niger. Gluconic acid and its derivatives, the principal being sodium gluconate, have wide applications in food and pharmaceutical industry. This article gives a review of microbial gluconic acid production, its properties and applications.
*Corresponding author: 
christian.larroche@univ-bpclermont.fr
++33 473 407 829
