Bacillus subtilis grown in a "breathing" vessel without sparger aeration

Area of Science:

• Biotechnology
• Materials Science
• Synthetic Biology

Background:

• Traditional bioreactors face challenges with oxygen supply and contamination.
• Developing sustainable and efficient methods for microbial fermentation is crucial for industrial applications.

Purpose of the Study:

• To introduce a novel
• breathing
• vessel for microbial cultivation that facilitates gas exchange while preventing liquid permeation.
• To evaluate the efficiency of Bacillus subtilis as a cell factory for scyllo-inositol production using this new vessel.

Main Methods:

• Fabrication of a "breathing" vessel using expanded polytetrafluoroethylene (ePTFE) allowing selective gas exchange.
• Cultivation of Bacillus subtilis within the ePTFE vessel under agitation for aeration.
• Quantification of scyllo-inositol production by the engineered Bacillus subtilis.

Main Results:

• The ePTFE vessel successfully enabled gas exchange without liquid loss, maintaining sterile conditions.
• Bacillus subtilis demonstrated efficient growth and scyllo-inositol production within the breathing vessel.
• The system proved to be a sustainable and greener alternative for cell factory applications.

Conclusions:

• The developed "breathing" vessel offers a promising, eco-friendly platform for microbial fermentation.
• This technology enhances the efficiency of producing valuable compounds like scyllo-inositol.
• The approach paves the way for more sustainable biomanufacturing processes.