
Kirsten HeimannFlinders University · College of Medicine and Public Health
Kirsten Heimann
Associate Professor
About
171
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Introduction
Creating economically and environmentally sustainable industries through renewable product development for human health and nutrition, agriculture, biomaterials and biofuels.
Biorefining of bioresources for diverse renewable product development adopting circular economy logistics.
Microbial and microalgal potential for greenhouse gas, wastewater, and waste solids remediation.
Microbial capacity for biodegradable plastic production.
Additional affiliations
February 2001 - October 2014
Publications
Publications (171)
Plain Language Summary
Could natural plant pigment (chlorophyll) derivatives (chlorophyllins) improve the safety of the antiviral Molnupiravir, used to treat COVID-19 disease? Molnupiravir, a specific SARS-CoV-2 antiviral, may cause adverse genetic changes and thereby create potential host cell damage (through genotoxicity and DNA stressors). In ou...
With an increasing global population, the demand for protein will place unprecedented pressure on protein production worldwide. The full utilization of microalgae biomass as a nutrient source based on the biorefinery concept remains challenging, especially with regard to protein isolation and extraction. Herein, we report a strategy combining sodiu...
The red macroalgal genus Asparagopsis consists of six identified species, which produce and store bromoform. In co-feed trials, the species A. taxiformis and A. armata inhibited enteric-generated methane (CH4 – a greenhouse gas) emissions in ruminants, owing to their bromoform content. Estimations suggest that global anthropogenic CH4 emissions cou...
Tolypothrix, a self-flocculating, fast growing, CO2 and nitrogen-fixing cyanobacterium, can be cultivated in nutrient-poor ash dam waters of coal-fired power stations, converting CO2 emissions into organic biomass. Therefore, the biomass of Tolypothrix sp. is a promising source for bio-fertiliser production, providing micro- and macronutrients. Ene...
The purpose of this study was to develop temperature-sensitive lyotropic liquid crystals (LLC) for transdermal drug delivery systems. The hexagonal and cubic LLC samples were constructed in the polyoxyethylene (20) sorbitan monooleate (Tween 80)/PEG-60 hydrogenated castor oil (RH 60)/Ethyl oleate (EtOL)/water (H2O) system and characterized by Small...
The global demand for dietary proteins and protein-derived products are projected to dramatically increase which cannot be met using traditional protein sources. Seafood processing by-products (SPBs) and microalgae are promising resources that can fill the demand gap for proteins and protein derivatives. Globally, 32 million tonnes of SPBs are esti...
Bottlenecks on the development of biodiesel production could be eliminated using direct transesterification (DT). This review presents a comprehensive overview for DT from oleaginous seed crops (edible and non-edible), microalgal and fungal/yeast biomass. Effects of key operational parameters, affecting the yield of biodiesel, such as feedstock, fe...
Rising CO2 levels, associated climatic instability, freshwater scarcity and diminishing arable land exacerbate the challenge to maintain food security for the fast growing human population. Although coal-fired power plants generate large amounts of CO2 emissions and wastewater, containing environmentally unsafe concentrations of metals, they ensure...
Hot water pretreatment of sea cucumbers potentially changes nutritional benefits. This study aimed to quantify hot water pretreatment-induced changes in metabolite profiles of sea cucumber body walls. ICP-OES, GC-MS, and LC-MS analyses of untreated- (UT-BW), hot water-treated body walls (HW-BW) of Apostichopus japonicus, and the hot water extract (...
Highly nutritional microalgal species are extensively used in aquaculture as live feedstock. Due to difficulties in maintaining microalgae in axenic conditions, they represent a potential pathogen carrier and disease vector in aquaculture ponds. Photodynamic therapy (PDT) via singlet oxygen (¹O2) production is a promising sterilization technique in...
Continued economic growth is reliant on stable, affordable energy, requiring at present fossil fuel-derived energy production. Coal-fired power stations produce metal-rich but macro-nutrient-poor waste waters and emit flue gas, containing ∼10% CO2. Algae and cyanobacteria remediate metals and CO2, but use of N2-fixing (diazotrophic) cyanobacteria c...
Direct biodiesel production from wet fungal biomass may significantly reduce production costs, but there is a lack of fast and cost-effective processing technology. A novel thin film continuous flow process has been applied to study the effects of its operational parameters on fatty acid (FA) extraction and FA to fatty acid methyl ester (FAME) conv...
The toxicity (IC50) of a series of mononuclear ruthenium complexes containing bis[4(4′-methyl-2,2′-bipyridyl)]-1,n-alkane (bbn) as a tetradentate ligand against three eukaryotic cell lines—BHK (baby hamster kidney), Caco-2 (heterogeneous human epithelial colorectal adenocarcinoma) and Hep-G2 (liver carcinoma)—have been determined. The results demon...
A novel continuous flow turbo-thin film device (T2FD) has been developed. The microfluidic platform is effective in high yielding production of biodiesel from wet microalgae at room temperature under continuous...
Carotenoids are lipid‐soluble pigments synthesized only in plants, fungi, and certain microorganisms and serve important functions in cellular responses to oxidative stress. In humans, carotenoids perform several therapeutic functions, such as antioxidant effects that include singlet oxygen quenching, prevention of age‐related macular degeneration...
Cancer is a primary cause of human fatality and conventional cancer therapies, e.g., chemotherapy, are often associated with adverse side-effects, tumor drug-resistance, and recurrence. Molecularly targeted therapy, composed of small-molecule inhibitors and immunotherapy (e.g., monoclonal antibody and cancer vaccines), is a less harmful alternative...
In early twenty-first century, both developed and developing countries aim to avoid burning of fossil fuel in an effort to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions and impacts on global warming. Microalgae are potential key players for tackling greenhouse gas emissions and for providing feedstock for renewable energy production. Microalgae utilize freel...
Microalgae feedstock is recognised as one of the most promising resources for producing triglycerides which is subsequently converted to biodiesel. However, the large-scale technology required to generate biodiesel from microalgae is still in its early stages of development. Microalgae research to date may be placed into four broad categories: (i)...
Human interferon gamma (hIFNγ) affects tumour cells and modulates immune responses, showing promise as an anti-cancer biotherapeutic. This study investigated the effect of glycosylation and expression system of recombinant hIFNγ in ovarian carcinoma cell lines, PEO1 and SKOV3. The efficacy of E. coli- and mammalian-expressed hIFNγ (hIFNγ-CHO and HE...
Methane mitigation in landfill top cover soils is mediated by methanotrophs whose optimal methane (CH4) oxidation capacity is governed by environmental and complex microbial community interactions. Optimization of CH4 remediating bio-filters need to take microbial responses into account. Divalent copper (Cu2+) and iron (Fe2+) are present in landfil...
Species of the genus Vibrio have been recognized as one of the most significant pathogens in aquaculture farming, causing mass mortality of farmed stocks. Photodynamic Antimicrobial Chemotherapy (PACT) with singlet oxygen (1O2) has been identified as a powerful and sustainable water treatment method for pathogen eradication. In this study, the effi...
The main aim was to integrate FW-recycling with cultivation of Rhodotorula glutinis and anaerobic digestion (AD) for bio-energy and -fuel recovery. Mixed FW was mechanically macerated (Pcon) and hydrolyzed (at 250g L-1 water) via chemical (Ch), thermal (Th) and TCh (combined Ch and Th) treatments. Cleared hydrolysates from individual pre-treatment...
Increases in reported incidence of ciguatera fish poisoning (hereafter ciguatera) have been linked to warmer sea temperatures that are known to trigger coral bleaching events. The drivers that trigger blooms of ciguatera-causing dinoflagellates on the Great Barrier Reef (GBR) are poorly understood. This study investigated the effects of increased t...
Microalgae crops can generate a biochemical profile of high energy density and may be used for remediation of contaminated waste waters. This manuscript presents a laboratory-scale investigation into the potential for growing endemic microalgae biofilms in phosphorus-enriched nickel refinery tailings water, with an emphasis on product potential and...
Photodynamic Antimicrobial Chemotherapy (PACT) has emerged as a promising method for pathogen eradication and control. PACT uses light excitation of non-toxic photosensitisers to produce singlet oxygen (¹O2), which in turn damages and eradicates microbial cells. In the present study, a naturally luminescent Vibrio campbellii strain ISO7 (V. campbel...
Human interferon gamma (hIFNγ) is an important cytokine in the innate and adaptive immune system, produced commercially in Escherichia coli. Efficient expression of hIFNγ has been reported once for Pichia pastoris (Wang et al., 2014) – a proven heterologous expression system. This study investigated hIFNγ expression in P. pastoris replicating the p...
Human interferon gamma is a cytokine belonging to a diverse group of interferons which have a crucial immunological function against mycobacteria and a wide variety of viral infections. To date, it has been approved for treatment of chronic granulomatous disease and malignant osteopetrosis, and its application as an immunotherapeutic agent against...
The biological processing - mechanism of cellular uptake, effects on the cytoplasmic and mitochondrial membranes, intracellular sites of localisation and induction of reactive oxygen species - of two dinuclear polypyridylruthenium(ii) complexes has been examined in three eukaryotic cells lines. Flow cytometry was used to determine the uptake of [{R...
http://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-981-10-0150-5
This book presents the latest advances in and current research perspectives on the field of urban/industrial solid waste recycling for bio-energy and bio-fuel recovery. It chiefly focuses on five main thematic areas, namely bioreactor landfills coupled with energy and nutrient recovery; micro...
Robust methanotrophic consortia for methane (CH4) remediation and by-product development are presently not readily available for industrial use. In this study, a mixed methanotrophic consortium (MMC), sequentially enriched from a marine sediment, was assessed for CH4 removal efficiency and potential biomass generated by-product development. Suitabl...
Chrysophaeum taylorii Lewis & Bryan (Pelagophyceae) is a mucilage-producing benthic microalga that has recently begun to spread in the Mediterranean Sea, where a range expansion is occurring. This paper presents the results of three field experiments that aimed to increase the knowledge on mucilage provision mechanisms for this benthic microalga an...
Growing demand for energy and food by the global population mandates finding water-efficient renewable resources. Microalgae/cyanobacteria have shown demonstrated capacity to contribute to global energy and food security. Yet, despite proven process technology and established net energy-effectiveness and cost-effectiveness through co-product genera...
Ciguatera is a tropical illness that has expanded its geographic range through international travel, frozen tropical fish exports and the expansion of ciguatera-causing dinoflagellates into temperate coastal marine habitats. The drivers the distribution of Gambierdiscus spp. and other ciguatera-causing dinoflagellates on their macroalgal substrate...
Objectives:
The objectives of this study were to: (i) determine the in vitro activities of a series of di-, tri- and tetra-nuclear ruthenium complexes (Rubbn, Rubbn-tri and Rubbn-tetra) against a range of Gram-positive and -negative bacteria and compare the antimicrobial activities with the corresponding toxicities against eukaryotic cells; and (i...
Low level methane emissions from coal mine ventilation air (CMV-CH4; i.e., 1% CH4) can significantly contribute to global climate change and, therefore, treatment is important to reduce impacts. To investigate CMV-CH4 abatement potential , five different mixed-methanotrohic consortia (MMCs) were established from soil/sediment sources i.e., landfill...
Trait‐based approaches are increasingly used to help understanding community structure and ecosystem functioning. A large proportion of trait‐based studies define a species by its mean trait values and assume intraspecific trait variability to be negligible compared to interspecific differences. However, this assumption is rarely tested.
Phenotypic...
Sparrow, L. and Heimann, K., 2016. Key parameters in the management of ciguatera. In: Vila-Concejo, A.; Bruce, E.; Kennedy, D.M., and McCarroll, R.J. (eds.), Proceedings of the 14th International Coastal Symposium (Sydney, Australia). Journal of Coastal Research, Special Issue, No. 75, pp. 1007 - 1011. Coconut Creek (Florida), ISSN 0749-0208. Cigua...
A series of non-symmetric dinuclear polypyridylruthenium(ii) complexes (Rubbn-Cl) that contain one inert metal centre and one coordinatively-labile metal centre, linked by the bis[4(4'-methyl-2,2'-bipyridyl)]-1,n-alkane ligand ("bbn" for n = 7, 12 and 16), have been synthesised and their potential as antimicrobial agents examined. The minimum inhib...
Microalgae show enormous promise to simultaneously create industries aiming for remediation of wastewaters and producing value-adding coproducts for large nonsaturable markets, such as biofuels, biofertilizers, and biopolymers. To date, however, their commercially realized exploitation is restricted to a few strains for the production of fine chemi...
Ciguatera is a neglected seafood-derived illness induced by ciguatoxins, which are derived from toxin precursors (gambiertoxins) produced by the benthic, marine tropical/subtropical dinoflagellates of the genus Gambierdiscus occurring on coral rubble, sand, and macroalgae. Ciguatera is gaining global attention primarily due to ciguatera cases occur...
Microalgae have potential to be used as a sustainable raw material in a wide range of applications, such as animal feed, biofuels and green chemistry. New cultivation systems are under development in order to improve productivity and system efficiency. Perfused membrane biofilm reactors are emerging as a potential alternative to traditional suspens...
Microalgae have undeniable potential for CO2 and wastewater remediation due to their photosynthesis-based physiology and aquatic nature. They offer new bioproduct potential for the nascent microalgal industry. Production specifics and associated carbon footprints are, however, strongly influenced by strain, cultivation platform and cultivation proc...
Transcriptional co-regulation of adjacent genes has been observed for prokaryotic and eukaryotic organisms, alike. High levels of gene adjacency were also found in a wide variety of yeast species with a high frequency of co-regulated gene sets. The aim of this research was to study how selective pressure on the Histidinol dehydrogenase gene (HIS4),...
Microalgae are ideal candidates for bioremediation and biotechnological applications. However, salinity and nutrient resource availability vary seasonally and between cultivation sites, potentially impacting on biomass productivity. The aim of this study was to screen pollutant-tolerant freshwater microalgae (Desmodesmus armatus, Mesotaenium sp., S...
Microalgae are considered to be one of the most viable biodiesel feedstocks for the future due to their potential for providing economical, sustainable and cleaner alternatives to petroleum diesel. This study investigated the particle emissions from a commercially cultured microalgae and higher plant biodiesels at different blending ratios. With a...
The understanding of algal phylogeny is being impeded by an unknown number of events of horizontal gene transfer (HGT), and primary and secondary/tertiary endosymbiosis. Through these events, previously heterotrophic eukaryotes developed photosynthesis and acquired new biochemical pathways. Acetyl-CoA carboxylase (ACCase) is a key enzyme in the fat...
The intracellular concentration of internal nitrogen (the “cell nitrogen quota”) is crucial to explain the rate at which phytoplankton populations grow. Hence, understanding changes in cell nitrogen quota is informative on aquatic primary productivity, phytoplankton ecology, eutrophication, and algal blooms. However, current methods to directly mon...
The global dependence on finite fossil fuel-derived energy is of serious concern given the predicted population increase. Bio-refining of woody biomass has received much attention, but data on food waste refining are sorely lacking, despite annual and global deposition of 1.3 billion tons in landfills. In addition to negative environmental impacts,...
Cyanobacteria were the first organisms capable of oxygenic photosynthesis on Earth. Due to this trait and their wide distribution in fresh- and marine waters, they are important primary producers in aquatic enviornments. Some cyanobacteria are capable of atmospheric nitrogen gas (N2) fixation, providing them with an advantage to sustain growth unde...
Chrysophaeum taylorii Lewis and Bryan (Pelagophyceae) is an allochthonous benthic microalga recently recorded in the Mediterranean Sea where it is spreading quickly. Although this species secretes mucilage which is seriously affecting marine communities, it has been scarcely studied and no information on its ecology is available yet. We present the...
Methane (CH4) is a potent greenhouse gas (GHG) and mitigation is important to reduce the global warming impacts. In this study, we aimed to convert CH4 to polyhydroxybutyrate (PHB; a biopolymer) by enrichment of methanotrophic consortia in bioreactors. Two different methanotrophic consortia were established form landfill top-cover (landfill biomass...
WAVETM rocking disposable bioreactors have been successfully utilized for bio-product development from bacteria, yeast, microalgae, animal and plant cells but not from cyanobacteria so far. N2-fixing cyanobacteria represent a prolific bio-products source with reduced cultivation costs. In this study, 1 L cultures of the N2-fixing cyanobacterium Ana...
The aim of this review was to elucidate the role of copper and iron in regulating methane (CH4) oxidation and subsequent biopolymer (i.e. polyhydroxyalkanoate [PHA]) accumulation in methanotrophic bacteria. Specifically, the review emphasizes the “copper switch mechanism” which alters CH4 oxidizing enzyme activities, i.e. soluble- and particulate-m...
This publication emphasises that:
• Certain micro-organisms are currently used (or have the potential to be used) in a variety of products and applications such as biofertilisers, plant protection products, biofuel production, bioremediation, cleaners, detergents as well as in the control of disease transmission.
• To date, there have been few use...