On-line analysis of fermentation media

A continuous on-line analysis system for components of the medium during the anaerobic and aerobic fermentation of glucose by Saccharomyces cerevisiae is described. The procedures used include: analysis of the outlet gas by conventional analyzers (CO₂, O₂) and a mass spectrometer; continuous sampling of the liquid phase with microfiltration and subsequent determination of phosphate and glucose (spectrophotometer), glucose (polarimeter) and ammonium ion (ion-sensitive sensor); and continuous separation of volatile components and dissolved gases with diffusion through a silicone rubber membrane in high vacuum and determination of mass (m/z=18, 28, 31, 32, 40, 44) by means of a mass spectrometer. The system was tested on a batch reactor and a continuously operated three-stage cascade consisting of stirred tank reactors. This equipment was connected to a process computer. Glucose was quantified either polarimetrically or spectrophotometrically with p-hydroxybenzoic acid hydrazide; the latter was far more sensitive and was preferred to enzymatic methods, with which correlation was good. Only acetoin was found to interfere. Problems with operating a mass spectrometer for fermentation control in the exit stream and with membrane sampling are discussed.     

On-line-Bestimmung von Enzymen in der Bioproze?analytik unter Berücksichtigung von Probenahme und Flie?injektionstechnik

Summary The on-line determination of enzymes in biotechnical processes becomes an important factor with regard to process development and optimization. At present, most commonly enzymes are determined off-line in the laboratory after withdrawal of a separate sample. Wet chemical methods dominate in this respect, mainly because enzymes have to be measured according to the reaction schemes which are catalyzed by them. For an efficient process monitoring and control the time delay, the limited reliability and the man power needed for analysis of a large number of samples are crucial points. By using the technique of flow injection analysis (FIA) it should in general become easy to develop automatically operated enzyme determination procedures based on reaction schemes which can be used for fast and efficient process monitoring, providing the problems with the coupling of the analyzer at the bioreactor are solved. Continuous sampling in this respect plays a key role in developing on-line measuring techniques. This paper reviews the current status of on-line enzyme analysis, using flow-injection techniques. It is shown that the coupling problems can be solved by using a newly developed sampling module, which is based on membrane filtration. Some examples of on-line enzyme determinations in fermentation as well as in downstream processing illustrate the ease and reliability of the proposed concept for using FIA in connection with membrane separation.     

On-line mass spectrometry in fermentation

The on-line application of mass spectrometry (m.s.) includes analysis of the fermentor gas phase by using a capillary inlet and analysis of the liquid phase by using membrane probes. Gas-phase measurements with a capillary inlet are fast and accurate for all gases of interest (O₂, N₂, CO₂, H₂, etc.). Liquid-phase measurements are done with steam-sterilizable membrane inlet probes, permitting direct analysis of dissolved gases and various volatiles. With these two inlets, automatic measurement of both the liquid and gas phases is possible when a microcomputer is used. This was applied to the batch fermentation of Bacillus subtilis. A further application of the membrane probe is evaluation of fermentation process state; this involves measuring the spectra of all detectable volatiles and correlating this information with the process state (e.g., product formation). Sufficient characteristic volatiles were found in various industrial fermentation samples. When mass spectra are treated by factor analysis, useful correlations are found with the product concentrations measured off-line. Calibration depending on the process conditions is necessary for this method, but it is widely applicable and allows automatic monitoring.     

The use of an automatic on-line system for monitoring penicillin cultivation in a bubble-colum loop reactor

Penicillium chrysogenum is cultivated by a fed-batch mode to produce penicillin V. During fermentation, the concentrations of the medium components must be held at predetermined levels, which will change during fermentation, e.g., in the growth phase the concentration of the carbon sources and the nitrogen sources (urea and ammonium) must be high enough to maximize biomass production, whereas in the production stage these sources should be limited. To achieve optimal substrate concentrations, continuous measurement of various components in the fermentation broth is necessary. This is done by using a sterilizable ultrafiltation sampling probe and an air-segmented automatic flow analysis system to determine reducing sugars, dissolved organic carbon, ammonium, urea, sulfate, phosphate and penicillin V concentrations; spectrophotometric and gas-sensing electrodes are used in order to guarantee dependable results throughout the 290-h fermentation process, the analysis system is automatically cleaned and calibrated, and blanks are determined. The results are stored and evaluated by computer.     

<Emphasis Type="Italic">On-line</Emphasis> Characterization of Metabolic State in Batch Cultivation of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Clostridium diolis</Emphasis> for 1,3-Propanediol Production Using NADH+H<Superscript>+</Superscript> Fluorescence

NADH is a coenzyme which plays a central role in cellular growth and metabolism. It is an intracellular fluorophore which fluoresces at 460 nm when cells are irradiated by 340 nm wavelength of light. The application of NADH+H⁺ fluorescence measurement for characterization of biomass and its metabolic activity during batch fermentation of 1,3-propanediol (1,3-PD) using Clostridium diolis was investigated in this study. A linear correlation between net fluorescence and biomass concentration was observed during both the initial and final phases of 1,3-PD fermentation. This could be used as an on-line indicator of biomass concentration inside the bioreactor thereby eliminating the need for sampling and off-line analysis for establishing biomass concentration during these phases. Also a sharp decline in the NADH+H⁺ fluorescence value was obtained towards the end of fermentation which could be a significant on-line, in situ signal of substrate depletion in the bioreactor and therefore possible fresh nutrient feed for enhanced production of 1,3-PD by repetitive and/or various fed-batch cultivation(s). This is the first report on the use of NADH + H⁺ fluorescence measurement technique for 1,3-PD fermentation.     

Semiconductor gas sensors in bioreactor control

A simple semiconductor gas sensor (TGS 812) is used for the on-line measurement and control of indole during the production of l-tryptophan from indole and l-serine with immobilized E. coli cells. Indole is estimated in the reactor gas space. In combination with an automatic indole supply system, a feed-batch process became possible. The indole concentration was monitored and kept within the optimal range (300–600 mg l^?1). A simple gas-sensing electrode dipped in the reaction medium provides direct measurement of organic solvents and gases in the liquid. Such a system is suitable for on-line determination of ethanol (10–70 g l^?1) during continuous production of ethanol with immobilized yeast cells.     

Measurement of biological parameters during fermentation processes

Efficient fermentation control requires the measurement of biological parameters. Three techniques were tested for monitoring. In the first, the NADH-fluorescence of micro-organisms was measured in batch and in continuous cultures under aerobic and anaerobic conditions, providing information on the metabolic status of the cells. The effects of cell concentration and of different substrates (glucose, ethanol and oxygen) were studied. The second technique is the calorimetric determination of various substrates, such as penicillin or enzymes, by an enzyme/thermistor device. With immobilized penicillin acylase (E.C. 3.5.1.11) or penicillinase (E.C. 3.5.2.6), penicillin was determined selectively in a fermentation broth. The thermistor was also used to measure penicillin acylase activity. The third technique is laser flow cytometry. A commercial double-beam flow cytometry system was used to determine cell size, light scattering and the protein, DNA and RNA contents of single cells. Flow cytometry allows rapid and sensitive control of fermentation processes with genetically modified E. coli 5K (pHM12) cells. The results of monitoring the cell size, light scattering, and protein and DNA contents of different micro-organisms during fermentation are outlined.     

On-line flow-injection monitoring of the enzyme inductor l-phenylalanine in the continuous cultivation of rhodococcus sp. M4

The o-phthaldialdehyde (OPA) assay for amino acids was adapted for flow injection analysis. With a dual-channel manifold and 2-μl injections, injection rates of 90–100 h^?1 were possible. Depending on the selected fluorimeter sensitivity, linear response ranges of 0.1–1.2 mM or 1–30 mM were obtained for l-phenylalanine with a relative standard deviation (RSD) of 0.9% for the slope of the calibration line. For ten injections of a 0.1 mM standard, the RSD was 1.6%. The detection limit was 0.01 mM. When the flow-injection method was combined with a fermentation sampling device and controlled by a timer, it was possible to monitor the decrease of l-phenylalanine on-line over a period of 87 h in the initial phase of a continuous cultivation of Rhodococcus sp. M4 producing the intracellular enzyme l-phenylalanine dehydrogenase. Correlation of the results with those obtained with an amino acid analyzer was good. Because OPA reacts with all primary amino groups, the applicability of the proposed method is restricted to cases in which only one amino acid and only small amounts of other amino group donators are present.     

On-line determination of lactic acid during kefir fermentation based on a fibre-optic lactic acid biosensor and flow-injection analysis

Lactic acid was monitored on-line for 13 h during a kefir fermentation by means of a fibre-optic lactic acid biosensor in combination with flow-injection analysis. The biosensor, which is based on an oxygen optrode with immobilized lactate oxidase (LOD), is described. The consumption of oxygen was determined via dynamic quenching of the fluorescence of an indicator by molecular oxygen. LOD was adsorbed on a sheet of carbon black and cross-linked with glutaraldehyde. Carbon black was used for optical isolation to protect the optrode from interference from ambient light and sample fluorescence. With the zone sampling technique the linear range (0.02–0.5 mM) for l-lactate was extended up to 60 mM. The maximum sample throughput is 20 h^?1. For five repeated measurements an r.s.d. of 3% at the 60 mM level was observed. It was possible to do continuous l-lactate analyses with this enzyme optrode for at least 2 days.     

On-line monitoring of continuous beer fermentation process using automatic membrane inlet mass spectrometric system

A fully automatic membrane inlet mass spectrometric (MIMS) on-line instrumentation for the analysis of aroma compounds in continuous beer fermentation processes was constructed and tested. The instrumentation includes automatic filtration of the sample stream, flushing of all tubing between samples and pH control. The calibration standards can be measured periodically. The instrumentation has also an extra sample line that can be used for off-line sample collection or it can be connected to another on-line method. Detection limits for ethanol, acetic acid and eight organic beer aroma compounds were from μg l⁻¹ to low mg l⁻¹ levels and the standard deviations were less than 3.4%. The method has a good repeatability and linearity in the measurement range. Response times are shorter than or equal to 3 min for all compounds except for ethyl caproate, which has a response time of 8 min. In beer aroma compound analysis a good agreement between MIMS and static headspace gas chromatographic (HSGC) measurements was found. The effects of different matrix compounds commonly present in the fermentation media on the MIMS response to acetaldehyde, ethyl acetate and ethanol were studied. Addition of yeast did not have any effect on the MIMS response of ethanol or ethyl acetate. Sugars, glucose and xylose, increased the MIMS response of all studied analytes only slightly, whereas salts, ammonium chloride, ammonium nitrate and sodium chloride, increased the MIMS response of all three studied compounds prominently. The system was used for on-line monitoring of continuous beer fermentation with immobilised yeast. The results show that with MIMS it is possible to monitor the changes in the continuous process as well as delays in the two-phase process.     

On-line monitoring during fermentation of whey based on ultrafiltration and liquid chromatography

A high-performance liquid chromatographic (HPLC) system, controlled by means of a programmer, is described for monitoring the conversion of sugars and the formation of acids during fermentation processes. An on-line automatic sampling system was developed in order to achieve systematic sampling of the fermentation broth. The fermentor is connected to the HPLC system through a tangential ultrafiltration unit. This system is integrated into an automatic HPLC line for routine analysis.     

On-line fermentation gas analysis: Error analysis and application of mass spectrometry

On-line fermentation gas analysis is of general interest because it permits the determination of metabolic rates in almost any biological process using living organisms. The consumption and production of gases (O₂, CO₂, CH₄, etc.) and volatile compounds may be determined without causing any risk of infection. Elemental balancing permits the determination of other metabolic rates if the stoichiometry is known. This was studied with the production of poly-β-hydroxybutyrate (PHB) by Alcaligenes latus. Estimations were based on the measurement of gas partial pressure and flow-rates, pH and alkali consumption rate. Experiments with a small quadrupole mass spectrometer showed unacceptable error propagation. Therefore, dynamic error propagation for all rates was studied using simulation. It was found that, for example, a 1% relative offset-calibration error for oxygen can result in an error in PHB estimation of > 50%. It is suggested that this culture is used in combination with elemental balancing for thorough tests of the accuracy of on-line gas analysis equipment. An on-line process gas analyser based on a quadrupole mass spectrometer (Balzers PGM 407) gave the following precision values (abs. vol.?%) during cultivation of Bacillus subtilis: nitrogen (m/z 14), 0.024; oxygen (m/z 32), 0.020; argon (m/z 40), 0.0011; and carbon dioxide (m/z 44), 0.0034. These values, combined with automatic recalibration, would be sufficient for reasonable estimation of PHB, biomass and substrates.     

Cellulosic fuel ethanol

Iogen (Canada) is a major manufacturer of industrial cellulase and hemicellulase enzymes for the textile, pulp and paper, and poultry feed industries. Iogen has recently constructed a 40 t/d biomass-to-ethanol demonstration plant adjacent to its enzyme production facility. The integration of enzyme and ethanol plants results in significant reduction in production costs and offers an alternative use for the sugars generated during biomass conversion. Iogen has partnered with the University of Toronto to test the fermentation performance characteristics of metabolically engineered Zymomonas mobilis created at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory. This study focused on strain AX101, a xylose- and arabinose-fermenting stable genomic integrant that lacks the selection marker gene for antibiotic resistance. The “Iogen Process” for biomass depolymerization consists of a dilute-sulpfuric acid-catalyzed steam explosion, followed by enzymatic hydrolysis. This work examined two process design options for fermentation, first, continuous cofermentation of C₅ and C₆ sugars by Zm AX101, and second, separate continuous fermentations of prehydrolysate by Zm AX101 and cellulose hydrolysate by either wildtype Z. mobilis ZM4 or an industrial yeast commonly used in the production of fuel ethanol from corn. Iogen uses a proprietary process for conditioning the prehydrolysate to reduce the level of inhibitory acetic acid to at least 2.5 g/L. The pH was controlled at 5.5 and 5.0 for Zymomonas and yeast fermentations, respectively. Neither 2.5 g/L of acetic acid nor the presence of pentose sugars (C₆:C₅ = 2:1) appreciably affected the high-performance glucose fermentation of wild-type Z. mobilis ZM4. By contrast, 2.5 g/L of acetic acid significantly reduced the rate of pentose fermentation by strain AX101. For single-stage continuous fermentation of pure sugar synthetic cellulose hydrolysate (60 g/L of glucose), wild-type Zymomonas exhibited a four-fold higher volumetric productivity compared with industrial yeast. Low levels of acetic acid stimulated yeast ethanol productivity. The glucose-to-ethanol conversion efficiency for Zm and yeast was 96 and 84%, respectively.     

Use of NAD(P)H Fluorescence Measurement for On-Line Monitoring of Metabolic State of Azohydromonas australica in Poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) Production

Culture fluorescence measurement is an indirect and non-invasive method of biomass estimation to assess the metabolic state of the microorganism in a fermentation process. In the present investigation, NAD(P)H fluorescence has been used for on-line in situ characterization of metabolic changes occurring during different phases of batch cultivation of Azohydromonas australica in growth associated poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) or PHB production. A linear correlation between biomass concentration and net NAD(P)H fluorescence was obtained during early log phase (3–12 h) and late log phase (24–39 h) of PHB fermentation. After 12 h (mid log phase) cultivation PHB accumulation shot up and a drop in culture fluorescence was observed which synchronously exhibited continuous utilization of NAD(P)H for the synthesis of biomass and PHB formation simultaneously. A decrease in the observed net fluorescence value was observed again towards the end of fermentation (at 39 h) which corresponded very well with the culture starvation and substrate depletion towards the end of cultivation inside the bioreactor. It was therefore concluded that NAD(P)H fluorescence measurements could be used for indication of the time of fresh nutrient (substrate) feed during substrate limitation to further enhance the PHB production.     

Looking into individual coffee beans during the roasting process: direct micro-probe sampling on-line photo-ionisation mass spectrometric analysis of coffee roasting gases

A micro-probe (μ-probe) gas sampling device for on-line analysis of gases evolving in confined, small objects by single-photon ionisation time-of-flight mass spectrometry (SPI-TOFMS) was developed. The technique is applied for the first time in a feasibility study to record the formation of volatile and flavour compounds during the roasting process within (inside) or in the direct vicinity (outside) of individual coffee beans. A real-time on-line analysis of evolving volatile and semi-volatile organic compounds (VOC and SVOC) as they are formed under the mild pyrolytic conditions of the roasting process was performed. The soft-ionisation mass spectra depict a molecular ion signature, which is well corresponding with the existing knowledge of coffee roasting and evolving compounds. Additionally, thereby it is possible to discriminate between Coffea arabica (Arabica) and Coffea canephora (Robusta). The recognized differences in the roasting gas profiles reflect the differences in the precursor composition of the coffee cultivars very well. Furthermore, a well-known set of marker compounds for Arabica and Robusta, namely the lipids kahweol and cafestol (detected in their dehydrated form at m/z 296 and m/z 298, respectively) were observed. If the variation in time of different compounds is observed, distinctly different evolution behaviours were detected. Here, phenol (m/z 94) and caffeine (m/z 194) are exemplary chosen, whereas phenol shows very sharp emission peaks, caffeine do not have this highly transient behaviour. Finally, the changes of the chemical signature as a function of the roasting time, the influence of sampling position (inside, outside) and cultivar (Arabica, Robusta) is investigated by multivariate statistics (PCA). In summary, this pilot study demonstrates the high potential of the measurement technique to enhance the fundamental knowledge of the formation processes of volatile and semi-volatile flavour compounds inside the individual coffee bean.     

Development and Optimisation of HILIC-LC-MS Method for Determination of Carbohydrates in Fermentation Samples

Saccharides are the most common carbon source for Streptococcus thermophilus, which is a widely used bacterium in the production of fermented dairy products. The performance of the strain is influenced by the consumption of different saccharides during fermentation. Therefore, a precise measurement of the concentrations of saccharides in the fermentation media is essential. An 18-min long method with limits of quantitation in the range of 0.159–0.704 mg/L and with ¹³C labelled internal standards employing hydrophilic interaction chromatography coupled to mass spectrometric detection-(HILIC-LC-MS) allowed for simultaneous quantification of five saccharides: fructose, glucose, galactose, sucrose, and lactose in the fermentation samples. The method included a four-step sample preparation protocol, which could be easily applied to high-throughput analysis. The developed method was validated and applied to the fermentation samples produced by Streptococcus thermophilus.     

On-line simultaneous monitoring of glucose and acetate with FIA during high cell density fermentation of recombinant E. coli

A two-channel flow injection analysis (FIA) system was developed for the simultaneous on-line monitoring of acetate and glucose during high cell density fed-batch fermentations of recombinant Escherichia coli. Acetate measurement was performed with a modified and optimised version of an existing method, based on acetate diffusion through a gas-diffusion chamber into a stream containing an acid-base indicator. The subsequent decrease in the absorbance was detected with an incorporated photometer. After method optimisation, it was possible to achieve linearity until 10 g/kg with no dilution step and with a detection level of 0.05 g/kg. Although some interferences were found, the performance of the method proved to be sufficiently reliable for on-line control purposes Commercially packed glucose oxidase (GOD) was used for the amperometric measurement of glucose. The method was linear up to 5 g/kg and it was possible to detect concentrations lower than 0.06 g/kg. For these measurements, no significant interferences were detected when the results were compared with other reference methods. The application of a simultaneous parallel configuration of the methods to a high cell density fed-batch E. coli fermentation was tested and reliable results were obtained within a 3 min delay. This information was made available to a supervisory computer running a developed LabVIEW™ programme via an Ethernet network, allowing the immediate implementation of control actions, improving the process performance.     

On-line identification of 4″-isovalerylspiramycin I in the genetic engineered strain of S. spiramyceticus F21 by liquid chromatography with electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry,ultraviolet absorbance detection and nuclear magnetic resonance spectrometry

LC-hyphenated techniques were applied to the on-line identification of isovalerylspiramycin I (isp I), a spiramycin-like macrolide in the crude extract of fermentation broth from a genetically engineered strain of S. spiramyceticus F21. In the structural characterization of the large molecular secondary metabolite of isp I, LC–DAD-UV–ESI-MSⁿ analysis played a crucial role, and stop-flow LC–¹H NMR measurement, with bitespiramycin used as reference, was a valuable complement approach. This rational approach proved to be an efficient means for the rapid and accurate structural determination of known microbial secondary metabolites, by which targeted isolation of component(s) of interest can be subsequently performed for further biological and pharmacological studies in drug development.     

A coaxially heated membrane introduction mass spectrometry interface for the rapid and sensitive on-line measurement of volatile and semi-volatile organic contaminants in air and water at parts-per-trillion levels

A coaxially heated membrane introduction mass spectrometry (MIMS) sampling interface is presented that demonstrates improved on-line performance for the direct measurement of semi-volatile organic compounds (SVOCs) in air and water samples at parts-per-trillion levels. The device is based on a polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) capillary hollow fibre membrane (HFM) in a pneumatically assisted "flow-over" configuration that is resistively heated on the membrane interior via a coaxial nichrome wire, establishing a thermal gradient counter to the analyte concentration gradient. This arrangement allows for continuous and/or pulsed heating modes, affording excellent sensitivity for the on-line measurement of SVOCs while retaining sensitivity for volatile organic compounds (VOCs). In addition, the signal response time for SVOCs is reduced substantially over conventional "flow-over" MIMS interfaces. Separation and quantitation of analytes are achieved using quadrupole ion trap tandem mass spectrometry.     

Development of membrane inlet mass spectrometry for examination of fermentation processes

Membrane inlet mass spectrometry (MIMS) is useful for on-line monitoring of fermentation processes. However, readings are affected by the complex and dynamic matrix in which biological processes occur, making MIMS calibration a challenge. In this work, two calibration strategies were evaluated for measurement of typical products of acidogenic fermentation, i.e., ethanol, H₂, and CO₂ in the liquid phase, and H₂ and CO₂ in the gas phase: (1) “standard calibration”, which was performed independent of fermentation experiments with sterile standards in water with a N₂ headspace, and (2) “in-process calibration” whereby fermentation was monitored concurrent with off-line analysis. Fermentation was operated in batch and continuous modes. In-process calibration was shown to be most effective for measurements of H₂ and CO₂ in both gas and liquid phases; standard calibration gave erroneous results. In the gas phase, this was due to a lower sensitivity during experiments compared to the independent standard calibration, believed to be caused by formation of a liquid film on the surface of the probe. In the liquid phase, moving from the standard calibration environment to the fermentation caused the linear relationship between the H₂ concentration and MIMS signal to change in intercept, and the relationship for CO₂ to change in slope, possibly due to dissolved ions, and related non-ideality. For ethanol, standard calibration results were fairly consistent with in-process calibration results. The main limitation with in-process calibration is the potential for a lack of variability in target concentration. This could be addressed by spiking the targeted compound at the end of the experiment. Regardless, MIMS is an ideal instrument for analysing fermentation experiments, due to its ability to measure targeted compounds semi-continuously, and due to a lack of drift over long periods.