Bioprocess monitoring using near-infrared spectroscopy

Near-infrared spectroscopy (NIR) is a nondestructive analytical technique that has been used for simultaneous prediction of the concentrations of several substrates, products and constructs in mixtures sampled from fermentation processes. In this chapter, we discuss applications of NIR for the monitoring of bioprocesses involving rice vinegar, compost, glycolipid, L-glutamic acid, lactic acid fermentation, mushroom cultivation, and Koji production. This includes detailed discussion of applications of NIR to process management of rice vinegar fermentation and compost fermentation. In the present study, absorbance at wavelengths between 400 and 2500 nm was measured at 2 nm intervals. To obtain calibration equations, multiple linear regression (MLR) was performed on NIR spectral data and conventional analysis values of a calibration sample set. To validate these calibration equations, they were used to calculate concentrations of a prediction sample set, which were then compared with concentrations measured by conventional methods. There was excellent agreement between the results of the conventional method and those of the NIR method, when both were used to analyze culture broth of rice vinegar fermentation and solid-state fermented compost. These results indicate that NIR is a useful method for monitoring and control of bioprocesses.