Optimising fermentation with process analytical technology

Fermentation plays a key role in biotechnology and is vital to the manufacture of a wide range of products including vaccines, antibiotics and vitamins.

The key to achieving maximum efficiency in any fermentation process is maintaining a precise environment for specific organisms to thrive. Analysing the respiratory gases being fed into and removed from the fermenter is an ideal and non-invasive way to do this, ie, monitoring and characterising physiological parameters of the procedure, such as growth kinetics and substrate consumption, indicates the optimum point at which to halt the fermentation for maximum yield.

Online process analytical technology (PAT) is increasingly used in this approach, for monitoring the composition of gas streams into and out of fermenters and bioreactors. In recent years, mass spectrometry (MS) in particular has emerged as an ideal PAT tool, due to its speed and precision.

We interviewed Dr Marie Izac, Vaccine Drug Substance Unit Head at Sanofi Pasteur, to find out how the company is using PAT – and specifically mass spectrometry – for continuous respiratory gas analysis throughout its protocols.