Abstract

Bioreactor design for the production of recombinant human therapeutic protein expressed in Pichia pastoris - A theoretical novel approach

Author(s): Swaminathan Detchanamurthy, Salai Madhumathi Arasi Parkunan

Bioreactors are the heart of any bioprocess operations. Currently there is a growing need for an efficient production of recombinant human therapeutic proteins worldwide. Most of the biotechnology based industries prefer Pichia pastoris as a host system for producing recombinant human therapeutic proteins because of the high cell density and product yield obtained from this particular species. This paper describes the bioreactor design procedure for producing 10kg yr-1 of recombinant human follicle stimulating hormone through Pichia pastoris. The protein used in our study is only a model for this work. Complete material and energy balance calculations were done in this studywhich is prerequisite for design calculations. Itwas calculated that for producing 10kg yr-1 of our model protein, a 26500Lworking volume bioreactor is required.Design calculationswere carried out by fixing the kLa as 0.080 sec-1.Mechanical design calculations were also performed in this work. The novel design calculation methods presented in this work here is very easy to learn and easy for the designers to design an efficient bioreactor for producing any proteins or enzymes in an industrial scale by only changing the few variables such as the empirical formula of the microbe and product of interest, operating conditions etc.