2020, Keil, Timm, Dittrich, Barbara, Lattermann, Clemens, Büchs, Jochen

Background: Small-scale cultivation vessels, which allow fed-batch operation mode, become more and more important for fast and reliable early process development. Recently, the polymer-based feeding system was introduced to allow fed-batch conditions in microtiter plates. Maximum glucose release rates of 0.35 mg/h per well (48-well-plate) at 37 °C can be achieved with these plates, depending on the media properties. The fed-batch cultivation of fluorescent protein-expressing E. coli at oxygen transfer rate levels of 5 mmol/L/h proved to be superior compared to simple batch cultivations. However, literature suggests that higher glucose release rates than achieved with the currently available fed-batch microtiter plate are beneficial, especially for fast-growing microorganisms. During the fed-batch phase of the cultivation, a resulting oxygen transfer rate level of 28 mmol/L/h should be achieved. Results: Customization of the polymer matrix enabled a considerable increase in the glucose release rate of more than 250% to up to 0.90 mg/h per well. Therefore, the molecular weight of the prepolymer and the addition of a hydrophilic PDMS-PEG copolymer allowed for the individual adjustment of a targeted glucose release rate. The newly developed polymer matrix was additionally invariant to medium properties like the osmotic concentration or the pH-value. The glucose release rate of the optimized matrix was constant in various synthetic and complex media. Fed-batch cultivations of E. coli in microtiter plates with the optimized matrix revealed elevated oxygen transfer rates during the fed-batch phase of approximately 28 mmol/L/h. However, these increased glucose release rates resulted in a prolonged initial batch phase and oxygen limitations. The newly developed polymer-based feeding system provides options to manufacture individual feed rates in a range from 0.24-0.90 mg/h per well. Conclusions: The optimized polymer-based fed-batch microtiter plate allows higher reproducibility of fed-batch experiments since cultivation media properties have almost no influence on the release rate. The adjustment of individual feeding rates in a wide range supports the early process development for slow, average and fast-growing microorganisms in microtiter plates. The study underlines the importance of a detailed understanding of the metabolic behavior (through online monitoring techniques) to identify optimal feed rates. © 2020 The Author(s).

2019, Keil, Timm, Landenberger, Markus, Dittrich, Barbara, Selzer, Sebastian, Büchs, Jochen

One essential task in bioprocess development is strain selection. A common screening procedure consists of three steps: first, the picking of colonies; second, the execution of a batch preculture and main culture, e.g., in microtiter plates (MTPs); and third, the evaluation of product formation. Especially during the picking step, unintended variations occur due to undefined amounts and varying viability of transferred cells. The aim of this study is to demonstrate that the application of polymer-based controlled-release fed-batch MTPs during preculture eliminates these variations. The concept of equalizing growth through fed-batch conditions during preculture is theoretically discussed and then tested in a model system, namely, a cellulase-producing Escherichia coli clone bank containing 32 strains. Preculture is conducted once in the batch mode and once in the fed-batch mode. By applying the fed-batch mode, equalized growth is observed in the subsequent main culture. Furthermore, the standard deviation of cellulase activity is reduced compared to that observed in the conventional approach. Compared with the strains in the batch preculture process, the first-ranked strain in the fed-batch preculture process is the superior cellulase producer. These findings recommend the application of the fed-batch MTPs during preculture in high-throughput screening processes to achieve accurate and reliable results. © 2019 The Authors. Biotechnology Journal Published by WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim

2014, Dittrich, Barbara, Möller, Martin

Die Entwicklung lokaler Drug-Delivery-Systeme im Rahmen des Verbundprojektes addressierte zwei häufige urologische Erkrankungen: die Überaktive Blase (OAB, overactive bladder) und das nicht-muskelinvasiven Blasenkarzinom (NMIBK). Die OAB besitzt mit einer Prävalenz von 17 % in den USA und Europa das Ausmaß einer Volkskrankheit. Aktuelle Ansätze zur intravesikalen lokalen Wirkstoffgabe beinhalten in der Regel die Einspülung von Wirkstofflösungen über einen Katheter in die Blase (Instillation). Hierbei werden z. B. Antimuskarinika gegen die Überaktive Blase (overactive bladder, OAB) oder ein Zytostatika zur Rezidiv- und Progressionsprophylaxe bei nicht-Muskel invasivem Blasenkarzinom (NMIBK) eingesetzt. Das Ziel des Teilvorhabens war die Entwicklung aktiver Mikrosphären und Filamente auf Polymerbasis zur lokalen Freisetzung von urologisch relevanten Wirkstoffen wie beispielsweise Trospiumchlorid oder Mitomycin C in die Blase. Durch die lokale Freisetzung sollen Nebenwirkungen, die bei einer systemischen Darreichung auftreten, vermieden bzw. minimiert werden. Es wurde ein skalierbares Herstellungsverfahren für die Herstellung der aktiven Mikrosphären entwickelt, ausgehend von der Mahlung und Dispersion der Wirkstoffpartikel in der Polymermatrix durch einen Naßmahlprozess, dem eigentlichen Herstellungsverfahren auf der Basis eines Emulsionsprozess und der anschließenden Aufarbeitung zu einem rieselfähigen Pulver durch das Verfahren der Sprühtrocknung. Das Freisetzungsverhalten der ausgewählten Polymermatrices wurde untersucht und eine Optimierung des Systems vorgenommen. Für die Indikation NMIBK wurde ein stark verkleinertes Filament-artiges Drug-Delivery-Systems entwickelt. Die entwickelten aktiven Mikrosphären konnten erfolgreich in das Gesamtsystem eingebaut werden und die entwickelten Drug-Delivery-Systeme wurden erfolgreich in den in-vitro und in-vivo Untersuchungen der Projektpartner angewendet.