High Cell Density Cultivation Research Articles

Effects of methane to oxygen ratio on cell growth and polyhydroxybutyrate synthesis in high cell density cultivation of Methylocystis sp. MJC1.

Polyhydroxybutyrate (PHB) production through CH4 conversion by methanotrophs offers a solution for greenhouse gas emissions and plastic waste concerns. In this study, we aimed to achieve high cell density cultivation of Methylocystis sp. MJC1 for efficient PHB production. Cultivating MJC1 using CH4 and air (3:7, v/v) yielded a final cell density of 52.9 g/L with a 53.7% (28.4 g/L) PHB content after 210 h, showcasing PHB mass production potential. However, long-term cultivation led to a low volumetric productivity of 0.200g/L/h. To address this, we conducted cultivation at various O2/CH4 ratios using O2 instead of air, which significantly improved the PHB productivity. Under high O2 conditions (O2/CH4 ratio of 1.5), biomass productivity increased 1.51-fold compared to that under low O2 conditions in the same time frame; however, PHB accumulation was delayed. Using an equal ratio of CH4 and O2 induced active cell growth and selective PHB production, achieving the highest PHB productivity (0.365 g/L/h) with a final cell density of 55.9 g/L and PHB content of 61.7% (34.5 g/L) in 162 h. This study highlighted the significance of the O2/CH4 ratio in CH4 conversion and PHB production by M. sp. MJC1.

Development of a scalable recombinant system for cyclic beta-1,2-glucans production

BackgroundCyclic β-1,2-glucans (CβG) are bacterial cyclic homopolysaccharides with interesting biotechnological applications. These ring-shaped molecules have a hydrophilic surface that confers high solubility and a hydrophobic cavity able to include poorly soluble molecules. Several studies demonstrate that CβG and many derivatives can be applied in drug solubilization and stabilization, enantiomer separation, catalysis, synthesis of nanomaterials and even as immunomodulators, suggesting these molecules have great potential for their industrial and commercial exploitation. Nowadays, there is no method to produce CβG by chemical synthesis and bacteria that synthesize them are slow-growing or even pathogenic, which makes the scaling up of the process difficult and expensive. Therefore, scalable production and purification methods are needed to afford the demand and expand the repertoire of applications of CβG.ResultsWe present the production of CβG in specially designed E. coli strains by means of the deletion of intrinsic polysaccharide biosynthetic genes and the heterologous expression of enzymes involved in CβG synthesis, transport and succinilation. These strains produce different types of CβG: unsubstituted CβG, anionic CβG and CβG of high size. Unsubstituted CβG with a degree of polymerization of 17 to 24 glucoses were produced and secreted to the culture medium by one of the strains. Through high cell density culture (HCDC) of that strain we were able to produce 4,5 g of pure unsubstituted CβG /L in culture medium within 48 h culture.ConclusionsWe have developed a new recombinant bacterial system for the synthesis of cyclic β-1,2-glucans, expanding the use of bacteria as a platform for the production of new polysaccharides with biotechnological applications. This new approach allowed us to produce CβG in E. coli with high yields and the highest volumetric productivity reported to date. We expect this new highly scalable system facilitates CβG availability for further research and the widespread use of these promising molecules across many application fields.

High production of ectoine from methane in genetically engineered Methylomicrobium alcaliphilum 20Z by preventing ectoine degradation

BackgroundMethane is a greenhouse gas with a significant potential to contribute to global warming. The biological conversion of methane to ectoine using methanotrophs represents an environmentally and economically beneficial technology, combining the reduction of methane that would otherwise be combusted and released into the atmosphere with the production of value-added products.ResultsIn this study, high ectoine production was achieved using genetically engineered Methylomicrobium alcaliphilum 20Z, a methanotrophic ectoine-producing bacterium, by knocking out doeA, which encodes a putative ectoine hydrolase, resulting in complete inhibition of ectoine degradation. Ectoine was confirmed to be degraded by doeA to N-α-acetyl-L-2,4-diaminobutyrate under nitrogen depletion conditions. Optimal copper and nitrogen concentrations enhanced biomass and ectoine production, respectively. Under optimal fed-batch fermentation conditions, ectoine production proportionate with biomass production was achieved, resulting in 1.0 g/L of ectoine with 16 g/L of biomass. Upon applying a hyperosmotic shock after high–cell–density culture, 1.5 g/L of ectoine was obtained without further cell growth from methane.ConclusionsThis study suggests the optimization of a method for the high production of ectoine from methane by preventing ectoine degradation. To our knowledge, the final titer of ectoine obtained by M. alcaliphilum 20ZDP3 was the highest in the ectoine production from methane to date. This is the first study to propose ectoine production from methane applying high cell density culture by preventing ectoine degradation.

A comprehensive study of glucose and oxygen gradients in a scaled-down model of recombinant HuGM-CSF production in thermoinduced Escherichia coli fed-batch cultures

The effect of gradients of elevated glucose and low dissolved oxygen in the addition zone of fed-batch E. coli thermoinduced recombinant high cell density cultures can be evaluated through two-compartment scale-down models. Here, glucose was fed in the inlet of a plug flow bioreactor (PFB) connected to a stirred tank bioreactor (STB). E. coli cells diminished growth from 48.2 ± 2.2 g/L in the stage of RP production if compared to control (STB) with STB-PFB experiments, when residence time inside the PFB was 25 s (34.1 ± 3.5 g/L) and 40 s (25.6 ± 5.1 g/L), respectively. The recombinant granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (rHuGM-CSF) production decreased from 34 ± 7% of RP in inclusion bodies (IB) in control cultures to 21 ± 8%, and 7 ± 4% during the thermoinduction production phase when increasing residence time inside the PFB to 25 s and 40 s, respectively. This, along with the accumulation of acetic and formic acid (up to 4 g/L), indicates metabolic redirection of central carbon routes through metabolic flow and mixed acid fermentation. Special care must be taken when producing a recombinant protein in heat-induced E. coli, because the yield and productivity of the protein decreases as the size of the bioreactors increases, especially if they are carried at high cell density.

Improved sieving coefficient in perfusion cell culture with reduced effective filtration length of hollow fibers.

The hollow fiber filter is the primary cell-retention device used in high-density perfusion cell culture and often used in an alternating tangential flow (ATF) configuration. The limited commercially available diaphragm pumps for ATF prevent utilization of vertical space when scaling beyond 500 L. Stacking hollow fiber filters coupled with viscous cell culture imposes vacuum pressure exceeding facility capabilities. Additionally, the longer filter assembly increases the hold-up volume and exceeds the diaphragm pump's fluid exchange capacity. The conventional tangential flow filtration (TFF) configuration circumvents this issue by exchanging culture from the bioreactor and cell-retention device in a unidirectional recirculation loop; however, the increased filter length when scaled up exacerbates the TFF's inherent issue with product retention from Starling flow. Stacking commercially available 20 cm TFF filters to make up the similar single-module length TFF used for the platform 3 and 50 L perfusion process at 41.5 and 65 cm, respectively, attempts to reduce fouling caused by Starling flow. The permeate of a single-module filter is partitioned into short independent segments through serially stacked filters, each harvested separately. By partitioning the permeate, the sieving coefficient increased for both 3 and 50 L scales. Reduction of Starling flow was confirmed with lower total hydraulic membrane resistance throughout the culture. This work demonstrates a method for increasing sieving coefficient and filter capacity by stacking TFF filters with independent permeate streams.

Poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) production from cassava processing wastes by Paracoccus sp. through high cell density cultivation: Effects of substrates limitation and kinetic analysis

Polyhydroxybutyrate (PHB) is bioplastic that has been recognized as a viable alternative to petroleum-based ones, owing to its biodegradability and biocompatibility. However, its use has long been hampered by its high selling price, caused mainly by using costly fermentation feedstock. In the present study, cassava pulp (CP) was investigated as an alternative low-cost carbon source for a high cell density cultivation of Paracoccus sp. KKU01 for PHB production. CP was hydrolyzed enzymatically, and the resulting hydrolysate was used as the base medium to optimize the bacterial growth conditions, i.e., medium compositions and dissolved oxygen setpoints, attaining as high as 40.9 ± 0.0 g/L of biomass. The optimum growth conditions were subsequently used in 4 fed-batch fermentation regimes, and Regime 2, where complete medium (CP hydrolysate supplemented with other nutrients) was fed twice followed by twice feedings of concentrated CP hydrolysate (CPH), was found to give highest biomass and PHB production of 114.5 ± 1.3 and 47.8 ± 3.9 g/L, respectively, with 41.8 ± 2.9% PHB content and yield of 0.12 kg/kg-CP. PHB productivity was 0.80 ± 0.06 g/(L·h). Logistic and Luedeking-Piret models were used successfully to describe the profiles of bacterial growth and PHB production, respectively. Curve fitting using the Luedeking-Piret model revealed that PHB synthesis and PHB turnover occurred simultaneously during the process. Overall, the results demonstrated that cassava processing wastes are feasible feedstock for PHB production by Paracoccus sp. KKU01.

High Cell Density Cultivation Combined with high Specific Enzyme Activity: Cultivation Protocol for the Production of an Amine Transaminase from Bacillus megaterium in E. coli.

High cell density cultivation is an established method for the production of various industrially important products such as recombinant proteins. However, these protocols are not always suitable for biocatalytic processes as the focus often lies on biomass production rather than high specific activities of the enzyme inside the cells. In contrast, a range of shake flask protocols are well known with high specific activities but rather low cell densities. To overcome this gap, we established a tailor-made fed-batch protocol combining both aspects: high cell density and high specific activities of heterologously produced enzyme. Using the example of an industrially relevant amine transaminase from Bacillus megaterium, we describe a strategy to optimize the cultivation yield based on the feed rate, IPTG concentration, and post-induction temperature. By adjusting these key parameters, we were able to increase the specific activity by 2.6-fold and the wet cell weight by even 17-fold compared to shake flasks. Finally, we were able to verify our established protocol by transferring it to another experimenter. With that, our optimization strategy can serve as a template for the production of high titers of heterologously produced, active enzymes and might enable the availability of these catalysts for upscaling biocatalytic processes.

A strategy of novel molecular hydrogen-producing antioxidative auxiliary system improves virus production in cell bioreactor

In the increasing demand for virus vaccines, large-scale production of safe, efficient, and economical viral antigens has become a significant challenge. High-cell-density manufacturing processes are the most commonly used to produce vaccine antigens and protein drugs. However, the cellular stress response in large-scale cell culture may directly affect host cell growth and metabolism, reducing antigen production and increasing production costs. This study provided a novel strategy of the antioxidant auxiliary system (AAS) to supply molecular hydrogen (H2) into the cell culture media via proton exchange membrane (PEM) electrolysis. Integrated with a high-density cell bioreactor, the AAS aims to alleviate cellular stress response and increase viral vaccine production. In the results, the AAS stably maintained H2 concentration in media even in the high-air exposure tiding cell bioreactor. H2 treatment was shown safe to cell culture and effectively alleviated oxidative stress. In two established virus cultures models, bovine epidemic fever virus (BEFV) and porcine circovirus virus type 2 (PCV-2), were employed to verify the efficacy of AAS. The virus yield was increased by 3.7 and 2.5 folds in BEFV and PCV-2 respectively. In conclusion, the AAS-connected bioreactor effectively alleviated cellular oxidative stress and enhanced virus production in high-density cell culture.

Impact of the hypoxic microenvironment on spermatogonial stem cells in culture.

The stem cell niche plays a crucial role in the decision to either self-renew or differentiate. Recent observations lead to the hypothesis that O2 supply by blood and local O2 tension could be key components of the testicular niche of spermatogonial stem cells (SSCs). In this study, we investigated the impact of different hypoxic conditions (3.5%, 1%, and 0.1% O2 tension) on murine and human SSCs in culture. We observed a deleterious effect of severe hypoxia (1% O2 and 0.1% O2) on the capacity of murine SSCs to form germ cell clusters when plated at low density. Severe effects on SSCs proliferation occur at an O2 tension ≤1% and hypoxia was shown to induce a slight differentiation bias under 1% and 0.1% O2 conditions. Exposure to hypoxia did not appear to change the mitochondrial mass and the potential of membrane of mitochondria in SSCs, but induced the generation of mitochondrial ROS at 3.5% and 1% O2. In 3.5% O2 conditions, the capacity of SSCs to form colonies was maintained at the level of 21% O2 at low cell density, but it was impossible to amplify and maintain stem cell number in high cell density culture. In addition, we observed that 3.5% hypoxia did not improve the maintenance and propagation of human SSCs. Finally, our data tend to show that the transcription factors HIF-1α and HIF-2α are not involved in the SSCs cell autonomous response to hypoxia.

Dynamic flux balance analysis of high cell density fed-batch culture of Escherichia coli BL21 (DE3) with mass spectrometry-based spent media analysis.

Dynamic flux balance analysis (FBA) allows estimation of intracellular reaction rates using organism-specific genome-scale metabolic models (GSMM) and by assuming instantaneous pseudo-steady states for processes that are inherently dynamic. This technique is well-suited for industrial bioprocesses employing complex media characterized by a hierarchy of substrate uptake and product secretion. However, knowledge of exchange rates of many components of the media would be required to obtain meaningful results. Here, we performed spent media analysis using mass spectrometry coupled with liquid and gas chromatography for a fed-batch, high-cell density cultivation of Escherichia coli BL21(DE3) expressing a recombinant protein. Time course measurements thus obtained for 246 metabolites were converted to instantaneous exchange rates. These were then used as constraints for dynamic FBA using a previously reported GSMM, thus providing insights into how the flux map evolves through the process. Changes in tri-carboxylic acid cycle fluxes correlated with the increased demand for energy during recombinant protein production. The results show how amino acids act as hubs for the synthesis of other cellular metabolites. Our results provide a deeper understanding of an industrial bioprocess and will have implications in further optimizing the process.

Strategies for high cell density cultivation of Akkermansia muciniphila and its potential metabolism.

Currently, there is significant interest in Akkermansia muciniphila as a promising next-generation probiotic, making it a hot topic in scientific research. However, to achieve efficient industrial production, there is an urgent need to develop an in vitro culture method to achieve high biomass using low-cost carbon sources such as glucose. This study aims to explore the high-density fermentation strategy of A. muciniphila by optimizing the culture process. This study also employs techniques such as LC-MS and RNA-Seq to explain the possible regulatory mechanism of high-density cell growth and increased cell surface hydrophobicity facilitating cell colonization of the gut in vitro culture. Overall, this research sheds light on the potential of A. muciniphila as a probiotic and provides valuable insights for future industrial production.

Depth filtration for clarification of intensified lentiviral vector suspension cell culture.

Depth filtration significantly impacts efficiency of lentiviral (LV) vector purification process. However, it is often deprioritized in the overall scope of viral vector manufacturing process optimization. The demand for LV vectors has increased with the rise in disease indications, making it crucial to improve current manufacturing processes. Upstream bioreactor process intensification has enabled cell densities of over 107 viable cells/mL, creating challenges for harvest unit operations. The larger size of LV vectors and their physiochemical similarity to host cell-DNA (HC-DNA) and poor clarification performance causes significant challenges for the subsequent chromatography-based purifications. As a result, a robust and scalable harvest of LV process is needed, especially for LV in vivo therapeutic quality needs. In this study, we systematically evaluated the overlooked yet important issue of depth filtration systems to improve enveloped LV functional vector recovery. We found that an established depth filtration system in process A that provided 94% (n = 6) LV functional recovery could not be translated to intensified Process B cell culture. Hence, the depth filtration process became a bottleneck for the purification performance in an intensified process. We demonstrated an improvement in LV functional vector recovery from 34% to 82% via filter train optimization for an intensified suspension cell culture system (>107 cells/mL with higher titer), while still maintaining a loading throughput of ≥82 L/m2 and turbidity ≤20 NTU. It was demonstrated that the two or three-stage depth filtration scheme is scalable and more suitable for high cell density culture for large scale for LV manufacturing process.

Design-of-Experiment-Guided Establishment of a Fermentative Bioprocess for Biomass-Bound Astaxanthin with Corynebacterium glutamicum

Corynebacterium glutamicum is prominent in the industrial production of secreted amino acids. Notably, it naturally accumulates the carotenoid pigment decaprenoxanthin in its membranes. Metabolic engineering enabled the production of astaxanthin. Here, a bioprocess for astaxanthin production in lab-scale stirred bioreactors was established by a DoE-guided approach to optimize the basic process parameters pH, rDOS, aeration rate as well as inoculation cell density. The DoE-guided approach to characterize 2 L scale cultivation revealed that the pH showed the strongest effect on the product formation. Subsequently, an optimum at pH 8, an aeration rate of 0.25 vvm, 30% rDOS and an initial optical density of 1 was established that allowed production of 7.6 ± 0.6 mg L−1 astaxanthin in batch mode. These process conditions were successfully transferred to a fed-batch process resulting in a high cell density cultivation with up to 60 g CDW L−1 biomass and 64 mg L−1 astaxanthin and thus demonstrating an about 9-fold improvement compared to optimal batch conditions. Moreover, pH-shift experiments indicate that the cells can quickly adapt to a change from pH 6 to 8 and start producing astaxanthin, showing the possibility of biphasic bioprocesses for astaxanthin production.

Engineering of the hypoxia-induced Pichia stipitis ADH2 promoter to construct a promoter library for Pichia pastoris.

Hypoxia-inducible promoters of a wide range of activities are desirable for fine-tuning gene expression in response to oxygen limitation, especially for the Crabtree negative yeast Pichia pastoris (Komagataella phaffii) with a high oxygen consumption rate in large-scale fermentations. Here we constructed a hypoxia-inducible promoter library for P. pastoris through error-prone PCR of Pichia stipitis ADH2 promoter (PsADH2). The library of 30 selected promoters showing 0.4- to 5.5-fold of the PsADH2 activity was obtained through high-throughput screening in microplates using the reporter yeast-enhanced green fluorescent protein. Two strong promoters, AM23 and AM30, were further characterized in shake flask cultures at high and low dissolved oxygen levels. They responded more sensitively to the low dissolved oxygen level, achieving a 4.6-, 7.9-fold and 3.6-, 7.7-fold higher fluorescence intensity and transcript level, respectively, than the wild-type PsADH2. Their hypoxia-inducible properties were confirmed with two additional reporters: β-galactosidase and Vitreoscilla hemoglobin, to demonstrate the broad applicability of the promoter library. During the typical fermentation process in shake flasks, the promoter AM30 showed strong expression with cell growth and decreased oxygen levels, without any additional chemical inducers or operations. Since the potent industrial host P. pastoris is recognized as an easy to scale-up system, it is reasonable to expect that the obtained hypoxia-inducible promoter library may have great potential to enable convenient regulation of gene expression under industrial fermentations which are usually run under oxygen limitation due to high cell density cultivations.

A holistic approach for process intensification of nicotinamide mononucleotide production via high cell density cultivation under exponential feeding strategy

Nicotinamide mononucleotide (NMN) subsists in all living organisms and has drawn tremendous attention as a nutraceutical and pharmaceutical product for several diseases such as Alzheimer’s, cancer, aging, and vascular dysfunction. Here, NMN was produced intracellularly in a high cell density bioreactor using an engineered Escherichiacoli strain via exponential feeding of co-substrates. Fed-batch culture via exponential feeding of co-substrate (glucose) and continuous feeding of substrate (nicotinamide) were performed using different cumulative nicotinamide concentrations. The highest concentration of 19.3 g/L NMN with a dry cell weight of 117 g/L was acquired from a cumulative nicotinamide concentration of 7.2 g/L with a conversion of 98 % from nicotinamide in 28 h. Further, liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry analysis validated the NMN production. This approach will be beneficial in achieving simultaneously low cost and ensuring high quality and quantity of NMN production.

Bioprocess development to produce a hyperthermostable S-methyl-5'-thioadenosine phosphorylase in Escherichia coli.

Nucleoside phosphorylases are important biocatalysts for the chemo-enzymatic synthesis of nucleosides and their analogs which are, among others, used for the treatment of viral infections or cancer. S-methyl-5'-thioadenosine phosphorylases (MTAP) are a group of nucleoside phosphorylases and the thermostable MTAP of Aeropyrum pernix (ApMTAP) was described to accept a wide range of modified nucleosides as substrates. Therefore, it is an interesting biocatalyst for the synthesis of nucleoside analogs for industrial and therapeutic applications. To date, thermostable nucleoside phosphorylases were produced in shake flask cultivations using complex media. The drawback of this approach is low volumetric protein yields which hamper the wide-spread application of the thermostable nucleoside phosphorylases in large scale. High cell density (HCD) cultivations allow the production of recombinant proteins with high volumetric yields, as final optical densities >100 can be achieved. Therefore, in this study, we developed a suitable protocol for HCD cultivations of ApMTAP. Initially, optimum expression conditions were determined in 24-well plates using a fed-batch medium. Subsequently, HCD cultivations were performed using E. coli BL21-Gold cells, by employing a glucose-limited fed-batch strategy. Comparing different growth rates in stirred-tank bioreactors, cultivations revealed that growth at maximum growth rates until induction resulted in the highest yields of ApMTAP. On a 500-mL scale, final cell dry weights of 87.1-90.1 g L-1 were observed together with an overproduction of ApMTAP in a 1.9%-3.8% ratio of total protein. Compared to initially applied shake flask cultivations with terrific broth (TB) medium the volumetric yield increased by a factor of 136. After the purification of ApMTAP via heat treatment and affinity chromatography, a purity of more than 90% was determined. Activity testing revealed specific activities in the range of 0.21 ± 0.11 (low growth rate) to 3.99 ± 1.02 U mg-1 (growth at maximum growth rate). Hence, growth at maximum growth rate led to both an increased expression of the target protein and an increased specific enzyme activity. This study paves the way towards the application of thermostable nucleoside phosphorylases in industrial applications due to an improved heterologous expression in Escherichia coli.

Production of retroviral vectors in continuous high cell density culture

Retroviral vectors derived from murine leukemia virus (MLV) are used in somatic gene therapy applications e.g. for genetic modification of hematopoietic stem cells. Recently, we reported on the establishment of a suspension viral packaging cell line (VPC) for the production of MLV vectors. Human embryonic kidney 293-F (HEK293-F) cells were genetically modified for this purpose using transposon vector technology. Here, we demonstrate the establishment of a continuous high cell density (HCD) process using this cell line. First, we compared different media regarding the maximum achievable viable cell concentration (VCC) in small scale. Next, we transferred this process to a stirred tank bioreactor before we applied intensification strategies. Specifically, we established a perfusion process using an alternating tangential flow filtration system. Here, VCCs up to 27.4E + 06 cells/mL and MLV vector titers up to 8.6E + 06 transducing units/mL were achieved. Finally, we established a continuous HCD process using a tubular membrane for cell retention and continuous viral vector harvesting. Here, the space-time yield was 18-fold higher compared to the respective batch cultivations. Overall, our results clearly demonstrate the feasibility of HCD cultivations for high yield production of viral vectors, especially when combined with continuous viral vector harvesting.Key points• A continuous high cell density process for MLV vector production was established• The tubular cell retention membrane allowed for continuous vector harvesting• The established process had a 18-fold higher space time yield compared to a batch

Enhanced production of nicotinamide mononucleotide by high cell density culture of engineered Escherichia coli

Nicotinamide mononucleotide (NMN), an intermediate product of NAD+ biosynthesis, is commonly found intracellularly in living species. Recently, NMN has attracted great interest for the treatment of different diseases. Here, we developed a high cell density fed-batch culture system to produce NMN at higher concentrations using an engineered E. coil strain. Fed-batch culture using linear feeding strategy exhibited 9.38 ± 0.8, 14.8 ± 0.56, and 5.04 ± 0.21 g/L NMN concentrations, and 59.5 ± 0.44, 68.8 ± 0.49, and 36.2 ± 0.32 g/L dry cell weights, using different concentrations of nicotinamide (NAM) of 3, 5, and 10 g/L, respectively. A maximum NMN concentration of 17.2 ± 1.3 g/L with a productivity of 0.956 g/L/h was achieved using two intermittent additions of 5 g/L NAM after 6 h and 17 h. NMN obtained from the fermentation broth was purified using size exclusion chromatography, generating a yield of 53.9 % NMN. Liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry and 1H nuclear magnetic resonance analysis was additionally used to validate the purity of NMN after purification. The fed-batch fermentation process applied in this study, using cheaper feed-stocks, demonstrated a remarkable enhancement in the production of therapeutically important NMN, making this a promising strategy for industrial-scale production of NMN.

Evaluating scaling of capillary photo-biofilm reactors for high cell density cultivation of mixed trophies artificial microbial consortia.

Capillary biofilm reactors (CBRs) are attractive for growing photoautotrophic bacteria as they allow high cell-density cultivation. Here, we evaluated the CBR system's suitability to grow an artificial consortium composed of Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803 and Pseudomonas sp. VBL120. The impact of reactor material, flow rate, pH, O2, and medium composition on biomass development and long-term biofilm stability at different reactor scales was studied. Silicone was superior over other materials like glass or PVC due to its excellent O2 permeability. High flow rates of 520μLmin-1 prevented biofilm sloughing in 1m capillary reactors, leading to a 54% higher biomass dry weight combined with the lowest O2 concentration inside the reactor compared to standard operating conditions. Further increase in reactor length to 5m revealed a limitation in trace elements. Increasing trace elements by a factor of five allowed for complete surface coverage with a biomass dry weight of 36.8gm-2 and, thus, a successful CBR scale-up by a factor of 25. Practical application: Cyanobacteria use light energy to upgrade CO2, thereby holding the potential for carbon-neutral production processes. One of the persisting challenges is low cell density due to light limitations and O2 accumulation often occurring in established flat panel or tubular photobioreactors. Compared to planktonic cultures, much higher cell densities (factor 10 to 100) can be obtained in cyanobacterial biofilms. The capillary biofilm reactor (CBR) offers good growth conditions for cyanobacterial biofilms, but its applicability has been shown only on the laboratory scale. Here, a first scale-up study based on sizing up was performed, testing the feasibility of this system for large-scale applications. We demonstrate that by optimizing nutrient supply and flow conditions, the system could be enlarged by factor 25 by enhancing the length of the reactor. This reactor concept, combined with cyanobacterial biofilms and numbering up, holds the potential to be applied as a flexible, carbon-neutral production platform for value-added compounds.

Continuous preparation of low-phenylalanine formulations by treatment of edible protein with immobilized phenylalanine ammonia lyase

Dietary restriction of phenylalanine is the predominant treatment for phenylketonuria. However, the currently available medicated formulations depend on an arduous and unsustainable chemical extraction procedure, which inflates the product’s price. Here, we describe a method that uses immobilized phenylalanine ammonia lyase (PAL) and offers a sustainable solution to generate a low-phenylalanine protein supplement for phenylketonuria patients. This enzyme deaminates phenylalanine to trans-cinnamic acid. Here, we optimized the high cell density cultivation of a recombinant Escherichia coli strain harboring Anabaena variabilis PAL (AvPAL) and achieved protein titers greater than 400 mg/l. This AvPAL protein was immobilized on multiwall carbon nanotubes, and the bioconjugate retained > 50 % activity after ten successive cycles with significantly improved thermostability. Batch deamination with the bioconjugate showed an 80 % reduction in the total phenylalanine content of soya protein hydrolysate. In a continuous packed bed column, > 98 % of the phenylalanine content was depleted at a feed flow rate of 0.1 ml/min, resulting in a space-time yield of cinnamate of 6.65 g/l/h. In a 72-h continuous run, the bioconjugate lost only 2 % of its activity with an operational inactivation constant of 3.9 × 10−5 min−1. This simple covalent immobilization method offers the potential to generate low-phenylalanine diet for phenylketonuria patients.