Non-invasive Raman spectroscopy for time-resolved in-line lipidomics

Area of Science:

• Biotechnology
• Spectroscopy
• Industrial Microbiology

Background:

• Oil-producing yeasts offer a sustainable alternative to palm oil.
• Accurate lipid composition analysis is vital for optimizing yeast fermentation processes.
• Current off-line methods like gas chromatography are time-consuming and cumbersome.

Purpose of the Study:

• To introduce non-invasive in-line Raman spectroscopy as a rapid method for yeast lipidomics.
• To demonstrate the potential of Raman spectroscopy for real-time process control in oleaginous yeast fermentation.
• To correlate spectroscopic data with biomass, lipid production, and glucose consumption.

Main Methods:

• Fed-batch fermentation of the oleaginous yeast *C. oleaginosus*.
• Application of in-line Raman spectroscopy for non-invasive monitoring.
• Development of Partial Least Squares (PLS) regression models for data analysis.
• Gaussian curve fitting to analyze fatty acid trends.

Main Results:

• Raman spectroscopy successfully monitored biomass formation, lipid production, and glucose consumption in real-time.
• PLS-regression models provided timely, process-relevant information.
• Analysis revealed trends in saturated and unsaturated fatty acid production during fermentation.

Conclusions:

• Raman spectroscopy is a viable and efficient tool for in-line lipidomics in oleaginous yeasts.
• This method facilitates faster process control for improved yield and quality.
• It supports the development of sustainable biotechnological processes for oil production.