Publications by authors named "Nicolas Cruz-Bournazou"

In the last decades, robotic cultivation facilities combined with automated execution of workflows have drastically increased the speed of research in biotechnology. In this work, we present the design and deployment of a digital infrastructure for robotic cultivation platforms. We implement a Workflow Management System, using Directed Acyclic Graphs, based on the open-source platform Apache Airflow to increase traceability and the automated execution of experiments.

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Article Synopsis
  • Miniaturized cultivation systems can improve bioprocess development efficiency but lack the necessary miniaturized pumps for fed-batch mode.
  • Enzyme-mediated glucose release from starch-derived polymers offers a continuous glucose supply, but its effectiveness is impacted by various factors like enzyme concentration and culture conditions.
  • A new model-based approach has been developed to enable precise control over glucose release, allowing for consistent growth rates in mini-bioreactors, thus simplifying continuous feeding in small-scale systems.
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Industrial cultures are hindered by the physiological complexity of the host and the limited mass transfer capacity of conventional bioreactors. In this study, a minimal cell approach was combined with genetic devices to overcome such issues. A flavin mononucleotide-based fluorescent protein (FbFP) was expressed in a proteome-reduced Escherichia coli (PR).

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Robotic facilities that can perform advanced cultivations (e.g., fed-batch or continuous) in high throughput have drastically increased the speed and reliability of the bioprocess development pipeline.

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Article Synopsis
  • In bioprocesses aimed at producing recombinant proteins as inclusion bodies, the upstream process significantly impacts downstream operations, particularly in cell disruption and inclusion body quality.
  • Optimizing fed-batch processes is crucial, but traditional methods like shake flasks and multiwell plates are labor-intensive and costly.
  • An automated platform for E. coli fed-batch cultivations in minibioreactors facilitates high-throughput experiments with real-time monitoring, enhancing the efficiency and robustness of upstream process development.
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Clavulanic acid (CA) is produced by Streptomyces clavuligerus (S. clavuligerus) as a secondary metabolite. Knowledge about the carbon flux distribution along the various routes that supply CA precursors would certainly provide insights about metabolic performance.

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The time-dependent development of cell polarizability and length in Escherichia coli batch fermentations were observed at-line with electrooptical measurements. While using a measurement system with fully automated sample preparation, the development of these properties can be observed with a comparable high frequency (six measurements per hour). The polarizability as well as the mean cell length both increase soon after inoculation and then decline from the growth phase on until the stationary phase is reached.

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