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Updated: May 20, 2026

Light-Controlled Fermentations for Microbial Chemical and Protein Production
Published on: March 22, 2022
Microbial production of itaconic acid: developing a stable platform for high product concentrations
Anja Kuenz1, Yvonne Gallenmüller, Thomas Willke
1vTI-Institute of Agricultural Technology and Biosystems Engineering, Bundesallee 50, 38116, Braunschweig, Germany. anja.kuenz@vti.bund.de
Abstract:
Biotechnologically produced itaconic acid (IA) is a promising organic acid with a wide range of applications and the potential to open up new application fields in the area of polymer chemistry, pharmacy, and agriculture. In this study, a systematic process optimization was performed with an own isolated strain of Aspergillus terreus and transferred from a 250-mL to a 15-L scale. An IA concentration of 86.2 g/L was achieved within 7 days with an overall productivity of 0.51 g/(L h), a maximum productivity of 1.2 g/(L h), and a yield of 86 mol%. A cultivation of other well-known A. terreus strains with the developed process showed no significant differences. Based on this, a process is developed providing a high final IA concentration independent of the used strain combined with high reproducibility.
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