Soft sensor based on Raman spectroscopy for the in-line monitoring of metabolites and polymer quality in the biomanufacturing of polyhydroxyalkanoates

Polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHA) are among the most promising bio-based alternatives to conventional petroleum-based plastics. These biodegradable polyesters can in fact be produced by fermentation from bacteria like Cupriavidus necator, thus reducing the environmental footprint of the manufacturing process. However, ensuring consistent product quality attributes is a major challenge of biomanufacturing. To address this issue, the implementation of real-time monitoring tools is essential to increase process understanding, enable a prompt response to possible process deviations and realize on-line process optimization. In this work, a soft sensor based on in situ Raman spectroscopy was developed and applied to the in-line monitoring of PHA biomanufacturing. This strategy allows the collection of quantitative information directly from the culture broth, without the need for sampling, and at high frequency. In fact, through an optimized multivariate data analysis pipeline, this soft sensor allows monitoring cell dry weight, as well as carbon and nitrogen source concentrations with root mean squared errors (RMSE) equal to 3.71, 7 and 0.03 g/L, respectively. In addition, this tool allows the in-line monitoring of intracellular PHA accumulation, with an RMSE of 14 gPHA/gCells. For the first time, also the number and weight average molecular weights of the polymer produced could be monitored, with RMSE of 8.7E4 and 11.6E4 g/mol, respectively. Overall, this work demonstrates the potential of Raman spectroscopy in the in -line monitoring of biotechnology processes, leading to the simultaneous measurement of several process variables in real time without the need of sampling and labor-intensive sample preparations

Probing the Kinetic Anabolism of Poly-Beta-Hydroxybutyrate in Cupriavidus necator H16 Using Single-Cell Raman Spectroscopy

Poly-beta-hydroxybutyrate (PHB) can be formed in large amounts in Cupriavidus necator and is important for the industrial production of biodegradable plastics. In this investigation, laser tweezers Raman spectroscopy (LTRS) was used to characterize dynamic changes in PHB content—as well as in the contents of other common biomolecule—in C. necator during batch growth at both the population and single-cell levels. PHB accumulation began in the early stages of bacterial growth, and the maximum PHB production rate occurred in the early and middle exponential phases. The active biosynthesis of DNA, RNA, and proteins occurred in the lag and early exponential phases, whereas the levels of these molecules decreased continuously during the remaining fermentation process until the minimum values were reached. The PHB content inside single cells was relatively homogenous in the middle stage of fermentation; during the late growth stage, the variation in PHB levels between cells increased. In addition, bacterial cells in various growth phases could be clearly discriminated when principle component analysis was performed on the spectral data. These results suggest that LTRS is a valuable single-cell analysis tool that can provide more comprehensive information about the physiological state of a growing microbial population

SURFACE-ENHANCED RAMAN SPECTROSCOPY (SERS) FOR PROTEIN DETERMINATION IN HUMAN URINE

Excessive protein excretion in human urine is an early and sensitive marker of diabetic nephropathy, primary and secondary renal disease. Kidney problems, particularly chronic kidney disease, remain among the few growing causes of mortality in the world. Therefore, it is important to develop efficient, expressive, and low-cost method for protein determination. Surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) methods are potential candidates to achieve those criteria. In this paper, the SERS method was developed to distinguish patients with proteinuria and the healthy group. Two types of commercial gold nanoparticles with a diameter of 60 nm and 100 nm were employed to prepare substrates for the analysis of 78 samples of unique patients. Data analysis by the PCA-LDA algorithm, and the ROC curves, gave results for diagnostic figures of merits. Sensitivity, specificity, accuracy, and AUC were 0.79, 0.89, 0.85, and 0.90 for the set with 60 nm Au NPs, respectively. Sensitivity, specificity, accuracy, and AUC were 0.79, 0.98, 0.90, and 0.91 for the set with 100 nm Au NPs, respectively. The results show the potential of SERS spectroscopy in differentiating between patients with proteinuria and healthy individuals for clinical diagnostics

Advances in Polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA) Production, Volume 3

Nowadays, we are witnessing highly dynamic research activities related to the intriguing field of biodegradable materials with plastic-like properties. These activities are currently intensified by a strengthened public awareness of prevailing ecological issues connected to growing piles of plastic waste, microplastic formation, and increasing greenhouse gas emissions; this goes hand-in-hand with the ongoing depletion of fossil feedstocks, which are traditionally used to produce full carbon backbone polymers. To a steadily increasing extend, polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA) biopolyesters, a family of plastic-like materials with versatile material properties, are considered a future-oriented solution for diminishing these concerns. PHA production is based on renewable resources, and occurs in a bio-mediated fashion by the action of living organisms. If accomplished in an optimized way, PHA production and the entire PHA lifecycle are embedded into nature´s closed cycles of carbon. Holistic improvement of PHA production, applicable on an industrially relevant scale, calls for inter alia: consolidated knowledge about the enzymatic and genetic particularities of PHA accumulating organisms, in-depth understanding of the kinetics of the bioprocess, the selection of appropriate inexpensive fermentation feedstocks, tailoring the composition of PHA on the level of the monomeric constituents, optimized biotechnological engineering, and novel strategies for PHA recovery from biomass characterized by minor energy and chemical requirement

Identification and isolation of PHA producing bacteria

Polyhydroxyalkanoáty (PHA) jsou mikrobiální zásobní polyestery, které mohou představovat obnovitelnou a ekologicky šetrnou alternativu k petrochemickým plastům. Jejich výroba a využití jsou do velké míry znevýhodněny vysokou produkční cenou. Jednou z možností, jak snížit cenu produkce PHA, je využití extrémofilních PHA producentů, které s sebou přináší především výhody vyplývající z vysoké robustnosti procesu vůči mikrobiální kontaminaci. V předložené práci byla pozornost zaměřena na studium produkce PHA pomocí vybraných halofilních a termofilních mikroorganismů. Z halofilních mikroorganismů byly testováni především vybraní sbírkoví zástupci rodu Halomonas, a to vzhledem k jejich možnému využití k produkci PHA z levného odpadního fritovacího oleje. Byli identifikováni dva slibní PHA producenti, a to konkrétně Halomonas hydrothermalis a Halomonas neptunia. Oba kmeny dosahovaly v rámci baňkových experimentů solidních výtěžků PHA a při přídavku vhodných strukturních prekurzorů byly také schopny produkce kopolymerů se zajímavými materiálovými vlastnostmi. Hlavní důraz byl však v práci kladen na studium produkce PHA pomocí termofilních mikroorganismů. V rámci práce byla provedena izolace termofilních PHA producentů z různých termofilních konsorcií (aktivní kal, kompost atd.). V průběhu izolačních experimentů byl navržen originální izolační postup využívající změny osmotického tlaku tzv. osmoselekce. Touto originální cestou bylo získáno několik desítek slibných termofilních producentů PHA, kteří byli taxonomicky zařazeni pomocí sekvenace genu 16S rRNA a byl u nich testován PHA produkční potenciál. Nejslibnějším PHA producentem byl izolát klasifikovaný jako Aneurinibacillus sp. H1. K produkci PHA pomocí Aneurinibacillus sp. H1 lze využít řadu substrátů včetně odpadního glycerolu. Ještě významnější je schopnost syntetizovat kopolymery s vysokým obsahem 4-hydroxybutyrátu. Monomerní složení PHA kopolymeru, a tím i materiálové vlastnosti připraveného kopolymeru, je možné kontrolovat vhodným nastavením kultivačních podmínek. Připravený kopolymer P(3HB-co-4HB) má unikátní vlastnosti a velký aplikační potenciál v řadě high-end aplikací například v oblasti péče o zdraví, potravinářství nebo kosmetice.Polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHA) are microbial storage polyesters that represent a renewable and environmentally friendly alternative to petrochemical plastics. However, their production and use are severely disadvantaged by the high production cost. The use of extremophilic PHA producers is one of the ways to reduce the cost of PHA production. Extremophiles bring numerous advantages resulting from the high robustness of the process against microbial contamination. In this doctoral thesis, attention was focused on the study of PHA production using selected halophilic and thermophilic microorganisms. Representatives of the genus Halomonas were mainly from public collections of microorganisms. Two promising PHA producers on waste frying oil were identified, namely Halomonas hydrothermalis and Halomonas neptunia. Both strains achieved good PHA yields in flask experiments. With the addition of suitable structural precursors, they were also able to produce copolymers with interesting material properties. However, in the proposed thesis, the main emphasis was placed on the study of PHA production using thermophilic microorganisms. As a part of the work, the isolation of thermophilic PHA producers from various thermophilic consortia (active sludge, compost, etc.) was performed. During isolations experiments, an original isolation procedure was designed using changes in osmotic pressure, the so-called osmoselection. Dozens of promising thermophilic PHA producers were obtained thanks to this original approach. They were taxonomically classified using 16S rRNA and tested for production potential. The most promising PHA producer was the isolate which was classified as Aneurinibacillus sp. H1. This bacterium is able to utilize a variety of substrates, including waste glycerol, to produce PHA. Even more important is the capability of synthesizing copolymers with a high content of 4-hydroxybutyrate. The monomer composition of the PHA copolymer and thus the material properties of the prepared copolymer can be controlled by suitable adjustment of the cultivation conditions. The prepared copolymer P(3HB-co-4HB) has unique properties and the great application potential in numerous high-end applications, for example in the field of health care, food industry or cosmetics.

Probing the Kinetic Anabolism of Poly-Beta-Hydroxybutyrate in Cupriavidus necator H16 Using Single-Cell Raman Spectroscopy

Poly-beta-hydroxybutyrate (PHB) can be formed in large amounts in Cupriavidus necator and is important for the industrial production of biodegradable plastics. In this investigation, laser tweezers Raman spectroscopy (LTRS) was used to characterize dynamic changes in PHB content-”as well as in the contents of other common biomolecule-”in C. necator during batch growth at both the population and single-cell levels. PHB accumulation began in the early stages of bacterial growth, and the maximum PHB production rate occurred in the early and middle exponential phases. The active biosynthesis of DNA, RNA, and proteins occurred in the lag and early exponential phases, whereas the levels of these molecules decreased continuously during the remaining fermentation process until the minimum values were reached. The PHB content inside single cells was relatively homogenous in the middle stage of fermentation; during the late growth stage, the variation in PHB levels between cells increased. In addition, bacterial cells in various growth phases could be clearly discriminated when principle component analysis was performed on the spectral data. These results suggest that LTRS is a valuable single-cell analysis tool that can provide more comprehensive information about the physiological state of a growing microbial population