Production of penicillin in a fluidized-bed bioreactor using a carrier-supported mycelial growth

A carrier-supported mycelial growth of Penicillium chrysogenum was applied to penicillin fermentation system using celite as a support material. Hyphal growth through the pore matrices of the material showed strong anchorages and provided highly stable biofilm growth. With bioparticles developed in such a manner, both cell growth and penicillin production were observed to increase significantly compared to the conventional dispersed filamentous cultures. Maximum values of specific penicillin production rate were found to be constant regardless of the growth form. A three-phase fluidized-bed fermentor was designed and tested for penicillin production using the bioparticles. Two modes of operation, semicontinuous and repeated fed batch, of the fermentor were tried. It was noted that the overgrowth of free mycelia and the development of fluffy loose bioparticles caused poor mixing and made the fermentor operation quite difficult. Control of the bioparticle size and the extension of production phase were therefore considered important to maintain the reactor productivity at a desired level. From the results of repeated fed-batch operation it was found that the control of bioparticle size could be successfully achieved by phosphate-limiting culture condition. Penicillin production under this condition was also observed to be maintained at a high level (about 80% of the maximum) for at least 1 month.