A multi-bioreactor system for optimal production of malaria vaccines with Pichia pastoris.

The successful development of optimal multistage production processes for recombinant products with Pichia pastoris needs to meet three pre-conditions. These pre-conditions are (i) strategies for performing fully automated and observable processes, (ii) characterization of the host cell-specific reaction parameters in order to make an adapted process layout for feeding and aeration strategies, and (iii) knowledge of optimal operation parameter conditions for maximizing the expression productivity of target protein amount and/or quality. In this report, an approach of a fully automated multi-bioreactor plant is described that meets all these requirements. The expression and secretion of a potential malaria vaccine with Pichia pastoris was chosen as an example to demonstrate the quality of the bioreactor system. Methods for the simultaneous identification of reaction kinetics were developed for strain characterization. Process optimization was carried out by applying a sequential/parallel Design of Experiments. In the view of Process Analytical Technology (PAT)-applications and in order to develop fully automated and globally observable production processes, methods for quasi on-line monitoring of recombinant protein secretion titers and the immunological quality of the products are also discussed in detail.

Kinetic metabolic modelling for the control of plant cells cytoplasmic phosphate.

A previously developed kinetic metabolic model for plant metabolism was used in a context of identification and control of intracellular phosphate (Pi) dynamics. Experimental data from batch flask cultures of Eschscholtiza californica cells was used to calibrate the model parameters for the slow dynamics (growth, nutrition, anabolic pathways, etc.). Perturbation experiments were performed using a perfusion small-scale bioreactor monitored by in vivo(31)P NMR. Parameter identification for Pi metabolism was done by measuring the cells dynamic response to different inputs for extracellular Pi (two pulse-response experiments and a step-response experiment). The calibrated model can describe Pi translocation between the cellular pools (vacuole and cytoplasm). The effect of intracellular Pi management on ATP/ADP and phosphomonoesters concentrations is also described by the model. The calibrated model is then used to develop a control strategy on the cytoplasmic Pi pool. From the identification of the systems dynamics, a proportional-integral controller was designed and tuned. The closed-loop control was implemented in the small-scale NMR bioreactor and experimental results were in accordance with model predictions. Thus, the calibrated model is able to predict cellular behaviour for phosphate metabolism and it was demonstrated that it is possible to control the intracellular level of cytoplasmic Pi in plant cells.