Bioprocesses

This platform provides access to a whole range of instrumented bioreactors with capacities from 50 mL to 300 L. These reactors are coupled to an adapted at-line or on-line analytical system characterizing liquid, solid and gas phases. The reactors’ environment is designed for the proactive monitoring of biotransformations. Its equipment can be used to evaluate and optimize the conversion of carbon-based raw materials using enzymatic and microbial processes (pure strains or consortia).

The platform is equipped* not only with devices capable of placing micro-organisms in pure or mixed culture (consortia) in different modes (batch, fed-batch, continuous) but also enzymatic catalysts. Characterization and sorting of microbial populations can be carried out by flow cytometry.
In particular, it consists of a culture robotic device equipped with 24 mini-bioreactors (50mL) for the in-depth characterization and culture optimization of microorganisms. The platform also includes a miniaturised screening platform for strains and conditions (FastStrain), which enables microorganisms to be cultivated in a controlled environment (temperature, aeration, pH, fed-batch) at millilitre scale.
The equipment of the biotransformation & culture platform was selected to maximize the potential of the other technical platforms (analytical, strain engineering and unitary operations) without compromising speed or capacity.

Services are also offered on this platform.

Contact: Julien CESCUT (e-mail: julien.cescut@inrae.fr)

*The development of this platform was supported by local and regional authorities (Conseil Régional Occitanie / Pyrénées-Méditerranée, Toulouse Métropole, Communauté d’Agglomération du SICOVAL), the European Union (2007-2013 FEDER Program) and the French National Research Agency (ANR).