Microorganism propagation is the starting point for many industrial processes in various fields. This propagation can be carried out for the production of the microorganism itself, as well as for producing enzymes or other molecules of interest. To perform these operations, our laboratory is equipped with bioreactors with a usable capacity of 2 liters, 10 liters, and 200 liters. These scales allow us to carry out the development stages of a microorganism culture protocol (bacteria or yeast, genetically modified or not) and to scale up to the pilot level, which will enable industrial partners to evaluate the feasibility of the developed process.
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Custom Microorganism Propagation
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A transposition to production scales of several m3 is then easily conceivable subsequently. We can manage the different stages of propagation: strain selection, optimization of culture medium composition, growth monitoring, potential fed-batch growth, and harvesting of biomass or the produced molecule of interest, by centrifugation, microfiltration, or ultrafiltration. For many years, for example, we have developed expertise in the growth of lactic acid bacteria, probiotic bacteria, sporulating bacteria of the genus Bacillus as well as several yeast strains in fed-batch mode.
Formulation and Drying of Biological Products
The formulation of biological products includes various processes. These may involve immobilization or drying. Regarding immobilization, our laboratory offers possibilities to immobilize microorganisms or active principles in alginate beads. Immobilization allows for the transformation of a biological product from a liquid form into a solid product (wet or dry). The immobilized product can optionally be dried by fluidized bed drying or lyophilization.
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To increase the shelf life of a bacterial or yeast inoculum, it is essential to stabilize it. This is often achieved through drying. This step reduces water content to slow down metabolism and enzymatic reactions while preserving cell viability. Drying is also indicated for improving the preservation of other biological products such as proteins or plant extracts. Our laboratory has several drying units adapted to the sensitivity of the products to be dried. We can lyophilize heat-sensitive products such as proteins or lactic acid bacteria using our tray lyophilizer. For solid or immobilized products, we can perform product drying in a fluidized bed. In addition to drying, our equipment allows for the coating of solid particles in various configurations, as well as spheronization. Finally, for high-temperature resistant solutions, we can also offer two atomization scales: pilot and production.