Abstract: Induction mutagenesis in lactic acid bacteria for D(?) lactic acid production from starch was performed and the stable mutant strain of Lactobacillus plantarum improved by the molecular biological technique can be used in production of high optically pure D(?) lactic acid directly from various kinds of starch as a carbon source. Those starch substrates are included cassava starch, corn starch and rice starch, etc. The fermentation product is high optically pure D(?) lactic acid up to 90.0-99.0% which is able to apply in bioplastic and pharmaceutical industries.

Abstract: An antibody specific for a chondroitin sulphate epitope is described, as is a hybridoma cell line which produces such an antibody. The antibody is useful in the diagnosis and treatment of connective tissue diseases, such as arthritis and sarcomas. Test kits and pharmaceutical compositions are also described.