Assessing the capabilities of 2D fluorescence monitoring in microtiter plates with data-driven modeling for secondary substrate limitation experiments of Hansenula polymorpha

Non-invasive online fluorescence monitoring in high-throughput microbioreactors is a well-established method to accelerate early-stage bioprocess development. Recently, single-wavelength fluorescence monitoring in microtiter plates was extended to measurements of highly resolved 2D fluorescence spectra, by introducing charge-coupled device (CCD) detectors. Although introductory experiments demonstrated a high potential of the new monitoring technology, an assessment of the capabilities and limits for practical applications is yet to be provided.

In this study, three experimental sets introducing secondary substrate limitations of magnesium, potassium, and phosphate to cultivations of a GFP-expressing H. polymorpha strain were conducted. This increased the complexity of the spectral dynamics, which were determined by 2D fluorescence measurements. The metabolic responses upon growth limiting conditions were assessed by monitoring of the oxygen transfer rate and extensive offline sampling. Using only the spectral data, subsequently, partial least-square (PLS) regression models for the key parameters of glycerol, cell dry weight, and pH value were generated. For model calibration, spectral data of only two cultivation conditions were combined with sparse offline sampling data. Applying the models to spectral data of six cultures not used for calibration, resulted in an average relative root-mean-square error (RMSE) of prediction between 6.8 and 6.0%. Thus, while demanding only sparse offline data, the models allowed the estimation of biomass accumulation and glycerol consumption, even in the presence of more or less pronounced secondary substrate limitation.

For the secondary substrate limitation experiments of this study, the generation of data-driven models allowed a considerable reduction in sampling efforts while also providing process information for unsampled cultures. Therefore, the practical experiments of this study strongly affirm the previously claimed advantages of 2D fluorescence spectroscopy in microtiter plates.