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SUMMARY:Microfabricated bioreactor devices for bioprocess development
DTSTART:20140131T130000
DTSTAMP:20260510T013017Z
UID:b38045c8a7c06a682cf76cc803a29dd65369d4f598a5d32e04eb30b8
CATEGORIES:Conferences - Seminars
DESCRIPTION:Dr. Nicolas Szita\, University College London\nBio: Nicolas Sz
 ita has significant expertise in microbioreactors and microfluidics\, whic
 h encompasses performing cell cultivation in a microfluidic format\, bioch
 emical micro reactor design and microfluidic device fabrication\, and the 
 system-wide integration of microfluidic and analytical devices. For his do
 ctoral degree at ETH Zurich\, he created a microfluidic pipetting device f
 rom silicon and glass\, with integrated capacitive sensors for the liquid 
 handling of microlitre volumes with nanolitre precision. At MIT\, he estab
 lished multiplexed microfluidic bioreactors\, and demonstrated highly repr
 oducible parallel batch fermentations. This led to the first demonstration
  that multiplexed microbioreactors can be designed to provide in situ and 
 real-time kinetic process data that are comparable with bench-scale reacto
 r data. The microbioreactors were linked to gene expression analysis\, ana
 lysed for glucose consumption\, organic acid production\, and for oxygenat
 ion capacity. During his time at the Technical University of Denmark\, he 
 initiated doctoral projects on continuous culture microbioreactors for sin
 gle use. At UCL\, his research focus is to alter fundamentally the ways in
  which industry can conduct bioprocess development by creating and then de
 ploying novel microfluidic reaction and separation platforms. He is applyi
 ng this focus across the three industrial bioprocess-using sectors pharmac
 euticals\, biopharmaceuticals\, and regenerative medicine and cell therapy
 .\nOver the last ten years\, bioreactor miniaturisation has made significa
 nt progress in traditional biotechnology and has changed the way early sta
 ge process development can be approached. Key advantages that make microfa
 bricated bioreactors a cost-effective proposition for early bioprocess dev
 elopment include: significant reduction in reagent use\, real-time monitor
 ing and control of process variables\, ease of sterilisation via disposabl
 e polymer technology\, reduced labour due to automation\, and the capabili
 ty to rapidly test different processing conditions. In my presentation\, I
  will highlight these advances and demonstrate how microfabricated bioreac
 tors will make an impact in emerging areas for bioprocessing.\nFor cell th
 erapy\, the development of tightly controlled culture processes will be cr
 ucial for the clinical and commercial use of pluripotent cells\, and novel
  tools are direly needed. To address this\, we have developed a unique mic
 rofabricated cell culture device (‘micro bioreactor’) which uses micro
 fluidic approaches to control the microenvironment of the cells\, and whic
 h maintains a link with traditional small-scale culture devices for valida
 tion and scale-up studies. Analytical methods are integrated with the devi
 ce to monitor cell culture growth online\, generating robust quantitative 
 data suitable for process documentation or evaluation of experimental outc
 omes. We have tested the device using human and mouse embryonic stem cell 
 expansion protocols as a model system.\nIn synthetic biology\, the key cha
 llenge will be to achieve manufacturability of the many engineered cells t
 hat this emerging field endeavours to produce. In my group\, a microfabric
 ated bioreactor was developed which allows controlled exposure of de novo 
 synthesised expression elements to defined growth conditions. This so-call
 ed micro-chemostat contains a novel electro-magnetic stirrer\, real-time m
 onitoring of growth conditions and fluorescent gene product expression\, a
 nd a demonstrator multiplexed system has been established. In ongoing work
 \, the capability of this micro-chemostat for rapid acquisition of design-
 relevant gene expression parameters in statistical depth is explored for t
 he gram-positive S. carnosus as a chassis for lantibiotic producing genes 
 within the framework of a European project.
LOCATION:CM 1 4 https://plan.epfl.ch/?room==CM%201%204
STATUS:CONFIRMED
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