In a partnership with the Department of Boston College and non-profit organization STEAM Ahead, two high school students and their two undergraduate student mentors, with mentorship from a postdoctoral researcher and professor, explored fermentation of xylitol. Xylitol is a naturally occurring sugar alcohol that is often used as a healthier substitute for sugar in products such as chewing gum, mouthwash, and toothpaste. Unfortunately, current industrial methods of xylitol production involve chemical processes that are costly and energy intensive, requiring high pressures, high temperatures, specialized equipment for purification and crystallization, and expensive metal catalysts in order to facilitate the catalytic hydrogenation necessary to convert xylose to xylitol. Biological production of xylitol through fermentation offers a more environmentally and economically sustainable alternative. The viability of biological xylitol production through fermentation by the yeast Candida tropicalis had initially been assessed, and the ideal fermentation conditions and xylose ratios had been determined. An important aspect of moving towards commercially viable xylitol bioproduction is to ensure the replicability of the process. The students implemented xylose-to-xylitol fermentation experiments, investigating different xylose ratios. Ultimately, the high school students produced similar results to those in previous trials conducted by experienced researchers. The students successfully produced xylitol through fermentation and identified the ideal initial xylose ratios to maximize xylitol bioproduction. The ability of high school students to implement this novel experimental technique and the consistency of the results across trials demonstrate the reliability of this process. The consistent replicability of the process across users indicates the potential for commercialization of xylitol bioproduction.
