Katja Rohr, Bertram Geinitz, Johannes Seiffarth, Aydin Anbarani, Sören Bernauer, Matthias Moch, Julia Tenhaef, Wolfgang Wiechert, Katharina Nöh, Marco Oldiges
{"title":"Insights into the morphology-productivity relationship of filamentous fungi through small-scale cultivation and automated microscopy of Thermothelomyces thermophilus.","authors":"Katja Rohr, Bertram Geinitz, Johannes Seiffarth, Aydin Anbarani, Sören Bernauer, Matthias Moch, Julia Tenhaef, Wolfgang Wiechert, Katharina Nöh, Marco Oldiges","doi":"10.1002/btpr.3528","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/btpr.3528","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Filamentous fungi are a cornerstone in the biotechnological production of enzymes, proteins, and organic acids. However, challenges in understanding and controlling the relationship between morphology and productivity can limit their application. This study addresses these challenges using Thermothelomyces thermophilus, a promising thermophilic fungus known for the production of thermostable enzymes. We investigated the effects of environmental conditions on fungal morphology and enzyme production using a combination of microbioreactor cultivation, automated liquid handling, and automated microscopy. Specifically, batch and fed batch cultivations were performed at different pH levels and glucose feeding rates to study their effects on secretory phytase production, fungal growth, and morphology. Results from batch cultivations revealed a two-fold higher phytase activity at pH 5.5 compared to pH 6.5, with notably smaller fungal fragments at the end of cultivation. Conversely, fed batch cultivations at a feeding rate of 1 g (l h)<sup>-1</sup> glucose showed a 1.6-fold higher enzyme activity at pH 5.5, accompanied by much larger fungal aggregates throughout the feeding phase. These findings suggest that large aggregates are associated with high productivity; however, their breakdown further enhances enzyme release, increasing activity in the supernatant. This study not only provides insights on the morphology-productivity relationship of T. thermophilus, but also demonstrates the efficacy of integrating microbioreactors with automated microscopy. This methodology represents a significant advance in the field of fungal biotechnology, paving the way for more efficient industrial bioprocesses.</p>","PeriodicalId":8856,"journal":{"name":"Biotechnology Progress","volume":" ","pages":"e3528"},"PeriodicalIF":2.5,"publicationDate":"2025-01-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143022049","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Jort J Altenburg, Brenda E Juarez-Garza, Jelle van Keimpema, Linda van Oosten, Gorben P Pijlman, Monique M van Oers, René H Wijffels, Dirk E Martens
{"title":"Process intensification of the baculovirus expression vector system using a perfusion process with a low multiplicity of infection at high cell concentrations.","authors":"Jort J Altenburg, Brenda E Juarez-Garza, Jelle van Keimpema, Linda van Oosten, Gorben P Pijlman, Monique M van Oers, René H Wijffels, Dirk E Martens","doi":"10.1002/btpr.3527","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/btpr.3527","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The emergence of new viruses and the spread of existing pathogens necessitate efficient vaccine production methods. The baculovirus expression vector system (BEVS) is an efficient and scalable system for subunit and virus-like particle vaccine production and gene therapy vectors. However, current production processes are often limited to low cell concentrations (1-4 × 10<sup>6</sup> cells/mL) in fed-batch mode. To improve the volumetric productivity of the BEVS, a medium exchange strategy was investigated. Screening experiments were performed to test baculovirus (expressing green fluorescent protein; GFP) infection and productivity of insect cell cultures infected at high cell concentration (1-2 × 10<sup>7</sup> cells/mL), showing that infection at high cell concentrations was possible with medium exchange. Next, duplicate perfusion runs with baculovirus infection were performed using a cell concentration upon infection (CCI) of 1.2 × 10<sup>7</sup> cells/mL and a multiplicity of infection (MOI) of 0.01, reaching a maximum viable cell concentration of 2.8 × 10<sup>7</sup> cells/mL and a maximum GFP production of 263 mg/L. The volumetric productivity of these perfusion runs was 4.8 times higher than for reference batch processes with a CCI of 3 × 10<sup>6</sup> cells/mL and an MOI of 1. These results demonstrate that process intensification can be achieved for the BEVS by implementing perfusion, resulting in a higher volumetric productivity.</p>","PeriodicalId":8856,"journal":{"name":"Biotechnology Progress","volume":" ","pages":"e3527"},"PeriodicalIF":2.5,"publicationDate":"2025-01-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143022060","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Highly iterated palindrome 1 sequence improves Synechococcus sp. PCC 7002 transformation efficiencies in a homology- and methylation-dependent manner.","authors":"Cody Kamoku, David R Nielsen","doi":"10.1002/btpr.3518","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/btpr.3518","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The ability to precisely engineer cyanobacterial metabolism first requires the ability to efficiently deliver engineered DNA constructs. Here, we investigate how natural transformation efficiencies in Synechococcus sp. PCC 7002 can be greatly improved by leveraging the native and abundant cyanobacterial Highly Iterated Palindrome 1 (HIP1) sequence. While including at least one homologous HIP1 site within the homology arms of an integrating plasmid increased integration efficiency by up to 7-fold, methylation of those sites by HIP1 methyltransferase (encoded by slr0214 from Synechococcus sp. PCC 6803) boosted this to greater than a 100-fold improvement overall. Non-homologous HIP1 sites also improved transformation efficiencies of both integrating and replicating episomal plasmids (by up to 60- and 9-fold, respectively), but only if methylated. The collective data further reveal that HIP1 does not function as part of a native restriction enzyme system in PCC 7002, but rather may improve transformation efficiency via an alternative mechanism(s), occurring prior to and/or during homologous recombination. Future studies are needed, however, to more clearly elucidate the specific role of HIP1 during natural transformation of cyanobacteria.</p>","PeriodicalId":8856,"journal":{"name":"Biotechnology Progress","volume":" ","pages":"e3518"},"PeriodicalIF":2.5,"publicationDate":"2025-01-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143022044","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Justin Allisha, Juthika Das, Thomas Dunnigan, Susan T Sharfstein, Payel Datta
{"title":"Stipulations of cell and gene therapy and the ties to biomanufacturing.","authors":"Justin Allisha, Juthika Das, Thomas Dunnigan, Susan T Sharfstein, Payel Datta","doi":"10.1002/btpr.3521","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/btpr.3521","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Cell and gene therapy (CGT) products are emerging and innovative biopharmaceuticals that hold promise for treating diseases that are otherwise beyond the scope of conventional medicines. The evolution of CGT from a research idea to a promising therapeutic product is due to the complementary advancements across various scientific disciplines. First, the innovations and advancements in gene editing and delivery technology have provided fundamental tools to manipulate genes and cells for therapeutic pursuits. Second, advancements in applied and translational research, including how clinical trials are designed, performed, evaluated, and analyzed, have transformed the technology into a potential therapeutic product. Third, advancements in scaling up the production of CGT products have been critical in delivering the product for preclinical studies, clinical trials, and approved treatments. In parallel, regulatory requirements have continuously evolved, with lessons learned from translational studies and biomanufacturing. These combined efforts have transformed CGT products from a promising concept into a reality with the potential to treat a wide range of diseases. However, continued R&D and regulatory oversight are crucial to further improve the safety, efficacy, and accessibility of CGT products.</p>","PeriodicalId":8856,"journal":{"name":"Biotechnology Progress","volume":" ","pages":"e3521"},"PeriodicalIF":2.5,"publicationDate":"2025-01-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143021625","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"A design space for the filtration of challenging monoclonal antibodies using Planova™ S20N, a new regenerated cellulose virus removal filter.","authors":"Asami Inoue, Satoshi Murakami, Akika Futamura, Naoto Watanabe, Yumiko Masuda","doi":"10.1002/btpr.3533","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/btpr.3533","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Virus removal by filtration is a crucial step in ensuring the safety of therapeutic antibodies and other biopharmaceutical products by mitigating the risk of endogenous and adventitious viral contamination. However, there are monoclonal antibodies (mAb) that are difficult to filter effectively using virus removal filters (i.e., challenging mAbs), necessitating the creation of guidelines for designing suitable filtration conditions for these challenging molecules. This study presents a filtration design space for filtration conditions using a new regenerated cellulose membrane filter with a representative challenging mAb. The filter demonstrated that filtration throughput is adaptable across a wide range of conditions for low to medium mAb concentrations, indicating its suitability for introduction into platform processes for related biopharmaceutical products.</p>","PeriodicalId":8856,"journal":{"name":"Biotechnology Progress","volume":" ","pages":"e3533"},"PeriodicalIF":2.5,"publicationDate":"2025-01-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143022034","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Elham Salimi, Sara Absalan, Julien Robitaille, Johnny Montes, Michael Butler, Douglas Thomson, Greg Bridges
{"title":"Sensitivity of bulk electrical impedance spectroscopy (bio-capacitance) probes to cell and culture properties: Study on CHO cell cultures","authors":"Elham Salimi, Sara Absalan, Julien Robitaille, Johnny Montes, Michael Butler, Douglas Thomson, Greg Bridges","doi":"10.1002/btpr.3519","DOIUrl":"10.1002/btpr.3519","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Bulk electrical impedance spectroscopy (bio-capacitance) probes, hold significant promise for real-time cell monitoring in bioprocesses. Focusing on Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells, we present a sensitivity analysis framework to assess the impact of cell and culture properties on the complex permittivity spectrum, ε<sub>mix</sub>, and its associated parameters, permittivity increment, Δ<i>ε</i>, critical frequency, <i>f</i><sub><i>c</i></sub>, and Cole-Cole parameter, <i>α,</i> measured by bio-capacitance probes. Our sensitivity analysis showed that Δε is highly sensitive to cell size and concentration, making it suitable for estimating biovolume during the exponential growth phase, whereas <i>f</i><sub><i>c</i></sub> provides information about cumulative changes in cell size, membrane permittivity, and cytoplasm conductivity during the transition to death phase. The analysis indicated that specific information about cell membrane permittivity or internal conductivity cannot be extracted from <i>ε</i><sub>mix</sub> spectrum. Based on the sensitivity analysis, we proposed two alternative parameters for monitoring cells in bioprocesses: Δ<i>ε</i><sub>1 MHz</sub> and Δ<i>ε</i><sub>1 MHz</sub>/Δ<i>ε</i><sub>0.3 MHz</sub>, using measurements at 300 kHz, 1 MHz, and 10 MHz. Δ<i>ε</i><sub>1 MHz</sub> is suitable for estimating viable cell density during the exponential growth phase due to its lower sensitivity to cell size. Δ<i>ε</i><sub>1 MHz</sub>/Δ<i>ε</i><sub>0.3 MHz</sub> can replace <i>f</i><sub><i>c</i></sub> due to similar sensitivities to cell size and dielectric properties. These frequencies are within most bio-capacitance probes' optimal operation range, eliminating the need for low-frequency electrode polarization and high-frequency stray capacitances corrections. Experimental measurements on CHO cells confirmed the results of sensitivity analysis.</p>","PeriodicalId":8856,"journal":{"name":"Biotechnology Progress","volume":"41 2","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.5,"publicationDate":"2024-12-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/btpr.3519","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142891842","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Laura Keitel, Benjamin Schick, Gino Pohen, Stanislav Yordanov, Jochen Büchs
{"title":"Online monitored characterization of Phocaeicola vulgatus for organic acid production using anaerobic microtiter plate cultivations","authors":"Laura Keitel, Benjamin Schick, Gino Pohen, Stanislav Yordanov, Jochen Büchs","doi":"10.1002/btpr.3526","DOIUrl":"10.1002/btpr.3526","url":null,"abstract":"<p><i>Phocaeicola vulgatus</i> (formerly <i>Bacteroides vulgatus</i>), an anaerobic gut bacterium, produces several organic acids. Research on <i>P. vulgatus</i> is still in its infancy. However, a detailed understanding of <i>P. vulgatus</i> growth and metabolism is essential for its assessment as an organic acid producer. Media variations, including different initial glucose and NH<sub>4</sub>Cl concentrations and osmolalities, are significant means to yield higher organic acid titers. Furthermore, examining different nitrogen and carbon sources is important to evaluate the potential of <i>P. vulgatus</i> for growth on renewable resources. Cultivations were performed in an in-house built device for anaerobic online-monitoring of fluorescence and scattered light in microtiter plates. Results revealed that the highest organic acid concentrations were reached while using galactose, glucose, or xylose as a carbon source, high osmolalities, and 0.25 g L<sup>−1</sup> NH<sub>4</sub>Cl. In addition, the organic acid composition changed with changing carbon and nitrogen sources. <i>P. vulgatus</i> was successfully further characterized, thereby contributing to a faster characterization of other anaerobic strains and paving the way for anaerobic organic acid production.</p>","PeriodicalId":8856,"journal":{"name":"Biotechnology Progress","volume":"41 2","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.5,"publicationDate":"2024-12-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/btpr.3526","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142862945","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Burak Sarikaya, Karsten Günster, Luca Antonia Grebe, Eva Forsten, Katharina Hürter, Jochen Büchs, Jørgen Magnus
{"title":"High-sensitivity real-time monitoring of pH and respiration activity unveils metabolic dynamics in shake flask cultures","authors":"Burak Sarikaya, Karsten Günster, Luca Antonia Grebe, Eva Forsten, Katharina Hürter, Jochen Büchs, Jørgen Magnus","doi":"10.1002/btpr.3525","DOIUrl":"10.1002/btpr.3525","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Erlenmeyer shake flasks are widely used during the first steps of bioprocess development. Despite their broad application in academia and industry, shake flasks usually lack standardized and user-friendly online monitoring techniques. In this work, the <b>pH</b> and Respiratory Activity MOnitoring System (pH-RAMOS) for the non-invasive online measurement of the oxygen transfer rate (OTR), carbon dioxide transfer rate (CTR), and pH in up to eight parallel shake flasks under sterile conditions is presented. The OTR and CTR are quasi-continuously measured in the headspace of the shake flasks using dedicated oxygen and carbon dioxide sensors, enabling precise respiratory quotient (RQ) evaluation. Self-adhesive pH sensor spots are used for the high-frequent real-time pH monitoring of the culture. These prototype pH sensor spots stand out due to their simple sterilizability and subsequent one-point calibration in the cultivation medium. The long-term stability of the pH sensor spots was assessed in a 28-day long abiotic experiment. The novel pH-RAMOS was validated with different eukaryotic and prokaryotic microorganisms, such as <i>Ogataea polymorpha</i>, <i>Ustilago trichophora</i>, and <i>Vibrio natriegens</i>. The combination of online OTR, CTR, RQ, and pH signals allowed for identifying various metabolic phenomena, such as oxygen limitations, substrate limitations, diauxies, and the production or consumption of specific compounds, based on their degree of reduction or change of pH. The high-frequent and sensitive pH-monitoring was particularly advantageous for registering subtle and transient metabolic phenomena.</p>","PeriodicalId":8856,"journal":{"name":"Biotechnology Progress","volume":"41 2","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.5,"publicationDate":"2024-12-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/btpr.3525","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142817014","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Reva M. Street, Frank H. Kung, Laura T. Beringer, Daniel B. Amchin, Bonnie L. Firestein, Caroline L. Schauer
{"title":"Electrospun gelatin/hyaluronic acid nanofibers as a platform for uric acid delivery to neural tissue","authors":"Reva M. Street, Frank H. Kung, Laura T. Beringer, Daniel B. Amchin, Bonnie L. Firestein, Caroline L. Schauer","doi":"10.1002/btpr.3517","DOIUrl":"10.1002/btpr.3517","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Uric acid (UA) is an antioxidant that has been reported to be a neuroprotective compound for injuries and diseases, and specifically, diseases of the central nervous system. However, uric acid is highly insoluble in aqueous solutions, and high levels in the serum lead to gout, which limits its use in humans. Here, we develop a novel drug delivery platform that will release uric acid in a sustained manner for application to neural tissue. We demonstrate that one-step incorporation of UA into an electrospun gelatin/hyaluronic acid nanofiber mat results in controlled release of UA in culture medium. Taking a unique approach, we made solutions of 12% gelatin and 1% hyaluronic acid in a formic acid solvent and added UA for production of nanofiber mats. We then dehydrothermally crosslinked the mats and tested for release of UA into physiological cell culture medium. To test whether the mats have any detrimental effects on healthy nervous system tissue, we cultured spinal cord explants on the mats extended and assessed extensions from the explants. We observed that comparable numbers and lengths of dendrites are extended from the spinal cord tissue, regardless of the amount UA content in the mats. Our results suggest that electrospun gelatin/hyaluronic acid nanofibers can be used as a platform for sustained uric acid delivery to neural tissue without detrimental effects.</p>","PeriodicalId":8856,"journal":{"name":"Biotechnology Progress","volume":"41 2","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.5,"publicationDate":"2024-11-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142614088","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Non-thermal plasma decontamination of microbes: a state of the art","authors":"Yiyi Xu, Amarjeet Bassi","doi":"10.1002/btpr.3511","DOIUrl":"10.1002/btpr.3511","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Microbial decontamination is a critical concern in various sectors, from healthcare to food processing. Traditional decontamination methods, while effective to a degree, present limitations in terms of environmental impact, efficiency, and potential harm to the target material. This review investigates the emerging realm of non-thermal plasma (NTP) as a promising alternative for microbial decontamination, emphasizing its mechanisms, reactor designs and applications. The mechanism decomposed into physical, chemical and biological effects of plasma, are elaborated upon to provide a foundational understanding of the intrinsic principles of plasma decontamination. Except for the generation type of NTP, reactors and other parameters by which NTP achieves microbial decontamination, emphasizing the design considerations and parameters that influence its efficacy. Moreover, the latest applications of NTP in decontaminating air, water, and surfaces, supported by the latest research findings in each domain are explored. Additionally, the perspectives on the future research tendencies of NTP decontamination and disinfection are highlighted with potential avenues for exploration and innovation. Through this comprehensive review, the aim is to underscore the potential of NTP, particularly DBD plasma, as a versatile, efficient, and environmentally friendly method for microbial decontamination.</p>","PeriodicalId":8856,"journal":{"name":"Biotechnology Progress","volume":"41 2","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.5,"publicationDate":"2024-10-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/btpr.3511","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142493973","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}