Abstract
The production of recombinant proteins is gaining increasing importance as the market requests high quality proteins for several applications. However, several process parameters affect both the growth of cells and product yields. This study uses high throughput systems and statistical methods to assess the influence of fermentation conditions in lab-scale bioreactors. Using this methodology, it was possible to find the best conditions to produce cytochrome b5 with recombinant cells of Escherichia coli. Using partial least squares, the height-to-diameter ratio of the bioreactor, aeration rate, and PID controller parameters were found to contribute significantly to the final biomass and cytochrome concentrations. Hence, we could use this information to fine-tune the process parameters, which increased cytochrome production and yield several-fold. Using aeration of 1 vvm, a bioreactor with a height-to-ratio of 2.4 and tuned PID parameters, a production of 72.72 mg/L of cytochrome b5 in the culture media, and a maximum of product to biomass yield of 24.97 mg/g could be achieved.