The Plackett-Burman Technique

Chapter 2
ISOLATION, SCREENING AND MEDIUM OPTIMIZATIONS OF EP83: A WATER SOLUBLE MELANIN PRODUCER

2.1. INTRODUCTION:

The discovery of novel bioactive compounds lead molecules of pharmaceutical interest through microbial secondary metabolite screening is becoming increasingly fruitful. There is wide acceptance that microorganisms are virtually unlimited sources of novel substances with many therapeutic applications. Among them almost all and not a certain group of bacteria hold a prominent position due to their diversity and had proven ability to produce new substances. Microbial flora and fauna are an attractive source of new therapeutic candidate compounds. In the past decades, the increasing needs for drugs to control new illness or resistant strains of microorganisms stimulated to look for unconventional new sources of bioactive metabolites. The use of microorganisms for the production of commercially vital metabolites has increased rapidly over the

Plackett - Burman design [Plackett and Burman, 1946] is most widely used for screening multiple factors at a time. This experimental design is particularly useful for initial screening and optimizing only the main effects. Consequently based upon its analysis and interpretations of the optimized data conditions, further analysis in terms of Box-Behnken, Box-Cox Plot, Central Composite design and predicted versus actual responses of residuals have been achieved and analyzed in this chapter.

The major aim of this study was to optimize the nutrient levels of the basal liquid medium used for the growth and melanin production in submerged fermentation using statistical experimental design, by exploring Pannonibacter phragmitetus strain EP83 (Accession No. KT767979; Version: KT767979.1 GI:929985627), obtained during primary screening study.

2.2. MATERIALS AND METHODS:
2.2.1. LIST OF