Christoph Brandenbusch

Efficient phase separation and product recovery in organic‐aqueous bioprocessing using supercritical carbon dioxide

Biphasic hydrocarbon functionalizations catalyzed by recombinant microorganisms have been shown to be one of the most promising approaches for replacing common chemical synthesis routes on an industrial scale. However, the formation of stable emulsions complicates downstream processing, especially phase separation. This fact has turned out to be a major hurdle for industrial implementation. To overcome this limitation, we used supercritical carbon dioxide (scCO2) for both phase separation and product purification. The stable emulsion, originating from a stereospecific epoxidation of styrene to (S)‐styrene oxide, a reaction catalyzed by recombinant Escherichia coli, could be destabilized efficiently and irreversibly, enabling complete phase separation within minutes. By further use of scCO2 as extraction agent, the product (S)‐styrene oxide could be obtained with a purity of 81% (w/w) in one single extraction step. By combining phase separation and product purification using scCO2, the number of necessary workup steps can be reduced to one. This efficient and easy to use technique is generally applicable for the workup of biphasic biocatalytic hydrocarbon functionalizations and enables a cost effective downstream processing even on a large scale. Biotechnol. Bioeng. 2010;107:642–651.

Osmotic Virial Coefficients as Access to the Protein Partitioning in Aqueous Two-Phase Systems

A promising alternative to state of the art chromatographic separations of therapeutic proteins is the extraction of the target protein using an aqueous two-phase system (ATPS). The use of an additional salt working as a displacement agent can influence the protein partitioning behavior in ATPS and thus enable a selective purification of the target protein. The selection of a suitable ATPS for protein extraction requires information concerning the protein-protein interactions (second osmotic virial coefficient B22 ) as well as the interactions between protein and solute (displacement agent and phase-forming components) (cross virial coefficient B23 ). In this work, the partitioning behavior and the precipitation affinity of immunoglobulin G (IgG) is considered within a polyethylene glycol (PEG)-phosphate ATPS. The influence on IgG partitioning upon addition of NaCl and (NH4)2 SO4 was investigated. In order to access the IgG precipitation affinity and the IgG partitioning behavior, the B22 and B23 values were determined for several combinations of solute [PEG, phosphate buffer, NaCl, and (NH4)2 SO4 ] and IgG based on static light scattering measurements. A qualitative estimation of the IgG precipitation affinity and the suitability of a solute as potential displacement agent within the PEG-phosphate ATPS on the basis of the measured B22 and B23 values is presented.

Inclusion of mPRISM potential for polymer-induced protein interactions enables modeling of second osmotic virial coefficients in aqueous polymer-salt solutions

The downstream processing of therapeutic proteins is a challenging task. Key information needed to estimate applicable workup strategies (e.g. crystallization) are the interactions of the proteins with other components in solution. This information can be deduced from the second osmotic virial coefficient B22, measurable by static light scattering. Thermodynamic models are very valuable for predicting B22 data for different process conditions and thus decrease the experimental effort. Available B22 models consider aqueous salt solutions but fail for the prediction of B22 if an additional polymer is present in solution. This is due to the fact that depending on the polymer concentration protein‐protein interactions are not rectified as assumed within these models. In this work, we developed an extension of the xDLVO model to predict B22 data of proteins in aqueous polymer‐salt solutions. To show the broad applicability of the model, lysozyme, γ‐globulin and D‐xylose ketol isomerase in aqueous salt solution containing polyethylene glycol were considered. For all proteins considered, the modified xDLVO model was able to predict the experimentally observed non‐monotonical course in B22 data with high accuracy. When used in an early stage in process development, the model will contribute to an efficient and cost effective downstream processing development.

The dynamic influence of cells on the formation of stable emulsions in organic-aqueous biotransformations.

Emulsion stability plays a crucial role for mass transfer and downstream processing in organic–aqueous bioprocesses based on whole microbial cells. In this study, emulsion stability dynamics and the factors determining them during two-liquid phase biotransformation were investigated for stereoselective styrene epoxidation catalyzed by recombinant Escherichia coli. Upon organic phase addition, emulsion stability rapidly increased correlating with a loss of solubilized protein from the aqueous cultivation broth and the emergence of a hydrophobic cell fraction associated with the organic–aqueous interface. A novel phase inversion-based method was developed to isolate and analyze cellular material from the interface. In cell-free experiments, a similar loss of aqueous protein did not correlate with high emulsion stability, indicating that the observed particle-based emulsions arise from a convergence of factors related to cell density, protein adsorption, and bioreactor conditions. During styrene epoxidation, emulsion destabilization occurred correlating with product-induced cell toxification. For biphasic whole-cell biotransformations, this study indicates that control of aqueous protein concentrations and selective toxification of cells enables emulsion destabilization and emphasizes that biological factors and related dynamics must be considered in the design and modeling of respective upstream and especially downstream processes.

Protein partition coefficients can be estimated efficiently by hybrid shortcut calculations

The extraction of therapeutic proteins like monoclonal antibodies in aqueous two-phase systems (ATPS) is a suitable alternative to common cost intensive chromatographic purification steps within the downstream processing. Thereby the protein partitioning can be selectively changed using a displacement agent (additional salt) in order to allow for a successful purification of the target protein. Within this work a new shortcut strategy for the calculation of protein partition coefficients in polymer-salt ATPS is presented. The required protein-solute (phase-forming component, displacement agent) interactions are covered by the cross virial coefficient B23 measured by composition gradient multi-angle light scattering (CG-MALS). Using this shortcut calculation allows for an efficient determination of the partition coefficients of the target protein immunoglobulin G (IgG) and the impurity human serum albumin (HSA) within PEG-citrate and PEG-phosphate ATPS independently on the protein concentration. We demonstrate that the selection of a suitable displacement agent allowing for a selective purification of IgG from HSA is accessible by B23. Based on the determination of the protein-protein interactions via CG-MALS covered by the second osmotic virial coefficient B22 a further optimization of ATPS preventing protein precipitation is enabled. The results show that our approach contributes to an efficient downstream processing development.

Process boundaries of irreversible scCO2 -assisted phase separation in biphasic whole-cell biocatalysis

The formation of stable emulsions in biphasic biotransformations catalyzed by microbial cells turned out to be a major hurdle for industrial implementation. Recently, a cost‐effective and efficient downstream processing approach, using supercritical carbon dioxide (scCO2) for both irreversible emulsion destabilization (enabling complete phase separation within minutes of emulsion treatment) and product purification via extraction has been proposed by Brandenbusch et al. (2010). One of the key factors for a further development and scale‐up of the approach is the understanding of the mechanism underlying scCO2‐assisted phase separation. A systematic approach was applied within this work to investigate the various factors influencing phase separation during scCO2 treatment (that is pressure, exposure of the cells to CO2, and changes of cell surface properties). It was shown that cell toxification and cell disrupture are not responsible for emulsion destabilization. Proteins from the aqueous phase partially adsorb to cells present at the aqueous‐organic interface, causing hydrophobic cell surface characteristics, and thus contribute to emulsion stabilization. By investigating the change in cell‐surface hydrophobicity of these cells during CO2 treatment, it was found that a combination of catastrophic phase inversion and desorption of proteins from the cell surface is responsible for irreversible scCO2 mediated phase separation. These findings are essential for the definition of process windows for scCO2‐assisted phase separation in biphasic whole‐cell biocatalysis. Biotechnol. Bioeng. 2015;112: 2316–2323.

Integrated organic–aqueous biocatalysis and product recovery for quinaldine hydroxylation catalyzed by living recombinant Pseudomonas putida

In an earlier study, biocatalytic carbon oxyfunctionalization with water serving as oxygen donor, e.g., the bioconversion of quinaldine to 4-hydroxyquinaldine, was successfully achieved using resting cells of recombinant Pseudomonas putida, containing the molybdenum-enzyme quinaldine 4-oxidase, in a two-liquid phase (2LP) system (Ütkür et al. J Ind Microbiol Biotechnol 38:1067–1077, 2011). In the study reported here, key parameters determining process performance were investigated and an efficient and easy method for product recovery was established. The performance of the whole-cell biocatalyst was shown not to be limited by the availability of the inducer benzoate (also serving as growth substrate) during the growth of recombinant P. putida cells. Furthermore, catalyst performance during 2LP biotransformations was not limited by the availability of glucose, the energy source to maintain metabolic activity in resting cells, and molecular oxygen, a possible final electron acceptor during quinaldine oxidation. The product and the organic solvent (1-dodecanol) were identified as the most critical factors affecting biocatalyst performance, to a large extent on the enzyme level (inhibition), whereas substrate effects were negligible. However, none of the 13 alternative solvents tested surpassed 1-dodecanol in terms of toxicity, substrate/product solubility, and partitioning. The use of supercritical carbon dioxide for phase separation and an easy and efficient liquid–liquid extraction step enabled 4-hydroxyquinaldine to be isolated at a purity of >99.9% with recoveries of 57 and 84%, respectively. This study constitutes the first proof of concept on an integrated process for the oxyfunctionalization of toxic substrates with a water-incorporating hydroxylase.

Integrated process development of a reactive extraction concept for itaconic acid and application to a real fermentation broth

Itaconic acid (IA) has a high potential to be used as a bio‐based platform chemical and its biocatalytic production via fermentation has significantly improved within the last decade. Additionally downstream processing using reactive extraction (RE) was described, potentially enabling a more efficient sustainable bioprocess producing IA. The bottleneck to overcome is the connection of up‐ and downstream processing, caused by lack of biocompatibility of the RE systems and direct application to fermentation broth. Within this study, a biocompatible RE system for IA is defined (pH dependency, extraction mechanism) and used for direct application to a fermentation broth. By optimizing the biocatalyst, the production medium, and the extraction system in an integrated approach, it was possible to define critical parameters that enabled a tuning of the overall bioprocess. With an extraction yield of YIA = 0.80 ± 0.03, IA could be produced as sole carboxylic acid ( b IA ,0 aq = 0.490 mol/kgaq) using a RE system consisting of ethyl oleate as organic solvent and tri‐n‐octylamine as extractant ( bT-C8 org = 0.6 mol/kgorg). This work is a proof of concept and demonstrates that by joint consideration of up‐ and downstream processing, optimized bioprocesses can be developed.

Novel Displacement Agents for Aqueous 2-Phase Extraction Can Be Estimated Based on Hybrid Shortcut Calculations.

The purification of therapeutic proteins is a challenging task with immediate need for optimization. Besides other techniques, aqueous 2-phase extraction (ATPE) of proteins has been shown to be a promising alternative to cost-intensive state-of-the-art chromatographic protein purification. Most likely, to enable a selective extraction, protein partitioning has to be influenced using a displacement agent to isolate the target protein from the impurities. In this work, a new displacement agent (lithium bromide [LiBr]) allowing for the selective separation of the target protein IgG from human serum albumin (represents the impurity) within a citrate-polyethylene glycol (PEG) ATPS is presented. In order to characterize the displacement suitability of LiBr on IgG, the mutual influence of LiBr and the phase formers on the aqueous 2-phase system (ATPS) and partitioning is investigated. Using osmotic virial coefficients (B22 and B23) accessible by composition gradient multiangle light-scattering measurements, the precipitating effect of LiBr on both proteins and an estimation of both protein partition coefficients is estimated. The stabilizing effect of LiBr on both proteins was estimated based on B22 and experimentally validated within the citrate-PEG ATPS. Our approach contributes to an efficient implementation of ATPE within the downstream processing development of therapeutic proteins.

Solubilization of proteins in aqueous two-phase extraction through combinations of phase-formers and displacement agents

Graphical abstract Figure. No caption available. Abstract The aqueous two‐phase extraction (ATPE) of therapeutic proteins is a promising separation alternative to cost‐intensive chromatography, still being the workhorse of nowadays downstream processing. As shown in many publications, using NaCl as displacement agent in salt‐polymer ATPE allows for a selective purification of the target protein immunoglobulin G (IgG) from human serum albumin (HSA, represents the impurity). However a high yield of the target protein is only achievable as long as the protein is stabilized in solution and not precipitated. In this work the combined influence of NaCl and polyethylene glycol (Mw = 2000 g/mol) on the IgG‐IgG interactions was determined using composition gradient multi‐angle light scattering (CG‐MALS) demonstrating that NaCl induces a solubilization of IgG in polyethylene glycol 2000 solution. Moreover it is shown that the displacement agent NaCl has a significant and beneficial influence on the IgG solubility in polyethylene glycol 2000‐citrate aqueous two‐phase system (ATPS) which can also be accessed by these advanced B22 measurements. By simultaneous consideration of IgG solubility data with results of the ATPS phase behavior (especially volume fraction of the respective phases) allows for the selection of process tailored ATPS including identification of the maximum protein feed concentration. Through this approach an ATPS optimization is accessible providing high yields and selectivity of the target protein (IgG). Abbreviations: ATPE: aqueous two‐phase extraction; ATPS: aqueous two‐phase system; CG‐MALS: composition gradient multi‐angle light scattering; DA: displacement agent; ePC‐SAFT: electrolyte Perturbed‐Chain Statistical Associating Fluid Theory; HSA: human serum albumin; IgG: immunoglobulin G; mAb: monoclonal antibody; PEG: polyethylene glycol; TLL: tie line length; TLS: tie line slope; UV: ultra violet.