Protein Production

Murdoch University's School of Engineering has developed a pilot scale fed-batch fermenter for researching DNA protein production.

When moving to production scale fermentation, the pharmaceutical industry uses the batch production technique used in clinical testing. This requires researchers to invest in larger reactors to expand production from 100 L to 500 L.

However, according to researchers, fed-batch processing can use the smaller reactors without losing the production rate of larger volumes. The difference with fed-batch processing is that main nutrients are fed at a rate that controls the cell growth rate and hence, the tendency to produce inhibitory by-products. This way, researchers can obtain a biomass concentration of a much higher density than in batch processing in which all nutrients are added at the start.

Working with researchers from the State Agricultural Biotechnology Centre, engineers have been testing the fed-batch processing reactor's ability to express a particular DNA protein from E. coli.

The custom-made reactor has a design that enables the reactor to be adapted for other production techniques. A feature of the fermenter is the computer automation. Everything from sensors to the rate of inlet gas is controlled and data logged by the computer. A useful and versatile program to run the reactor has also been developed.

Having previously used limited control systems provided by fermenter manufacturers, researchers now have the flexibility of measurement and control in a virtual world.

It is hoped that the system becomes a conduit for Murdoch University's biomedical researchers to capitalise on promising results, helping them scale up the test production of proteins and collect the type of data necessary to approach industrial producers. Researchers also hope to use this technology to optimise production of a variety of useful proteins including vaccines and antigens that can detect particular antibodies.