Fermentation at Different Stages
Microbial fermentation processes are increasingly popular for the production of bulk and fine chemicals, pharmaceuticals etc. Microbial fermentation processes are considered to form an important technological asset for reducing our future dependence on chemicals and products produced from fossil fuels.
Figure 1 A summary of major steps in upstream and downstream processing. (Soumya Mukherjee, 2019.)
The fermentation process consists of four stages. We are experts in process definition and development for microbial fermentation. We develop efficient, scalable processes with a line-of-sight to commercial manufacturing and a strong regulatory track record.
The preservation of high-yielding strains of microorganisms for fermentation is very important for product formation in substantial amounts. The ultimate purpose of preservation is to maintain the strains, as long as possible, without cell division.
The preserved cultures have to be revived for their industrial use. This can be done by growing the cultures in liquid or on solid media. The actual process and the conditions used for inoculum build-up largely depend on the preservation technique used. There are wide variations in the growth times which depend on the type of preservation and the organisms used.
Fermenter pre-culture or pre-fermenter culture is often required for inoculating large sized bioreactors. Inadequate quantity of inoculum will not only delay the product formation, but also reduce the yield drastically. By culturing the microorganisms (the inoculum build-up) in small fermenters, the size of the inoculum can be increased for large-scale industrial use.
The size of the fermenter used mainly depends on the product. For example, a small bioreactor (1-20 litre size) can be used for producing diagnostic enzymes and substances for molecular biology by recombinant microorganisms, while large bio-reactors (≥450 litres) are employed for producing single-cell protein and amino acids. For appropriate production by fermentation, several parameters need to be carefully considered and optimized. These include composition of nutrient medium, carbon and nitrogen sources, batch to batch variations, effect of sterilization on nutrients and on pH, and alterations in temperature and aeration.
Fermentation Methodologies
- Batch fermentation
- Fed-batch culture
- Continuous-flow well-mixed fermentation
- Continuous plug-flow fermentation, with and without recycling of biomass.
Creative Biogene's Fermentation Capabilities
- Fully instrumented fermentation suite
- Downstream processing and purification
- Production and laboratory-scale lyophilization
- In-process analytics
- End-product analytics, DNA or molecular testing
- Microbial cell banking services
- Industrialization from Feasibility to Commercial-scale
- Cleaning In Place & Sanitization In Place
Creative Biogene helps your fermentation product reach its full potential whether for small-scale development projects or commercial-scale market leadership. Our integrated fermentation and purification development, and analytical development teams work together to achieve program goals with the highest quality while maintaining the flexibility to accommodate a program's needs.
If you are interested in our services, please contact us for more details.
Have a question? Get a Free Consultation
