Effect of pulse electric fields (PEF) on accumulation of magnesium and zinc ions in Saccharomyces cerevisiae cells

• Method of supplementation of yeast with Mg and Zn to obtain bioplexes is proposed.
• Ions concentration and their mutual interactions affect accumulation in cells.
• Optimized PEF parameters provide the highest level of the Mg2+ and Zn2+ in yeast.
• Parameters of PEF and concentration of Mg and Zn affect biomass and cell viability.

Cultures of Saccharomyces cerevisiae were treated with PEF to improve simultaneous accumulation of magnesium and zinc ions in the biomass.The results showed that the ions concentration in the medium and their mutual interactions affect accumulation in cells. Increasing the concentration of one ion in the medium reduced the accumulation of the second one, in the control as well as in the cells treated with PEF. Under optimized conditions, that is, on 15 min exposure of the 20 h grown culture to PEF of 5.0 kV/cm and 20 μs pulse width, accumulation of magnesium and zinc in yeast biomass reached maximum levels of 2.85 and 11.41 mg/g d.m., respectively, To summarize, optimization of ion pair concentration and PEF parameters caused a 1.5 or 2-fold increase of magnesium and zinc accumulation, respectively, in S. cerevisiae.