Recombinant Bio-Pesticide
E. coli Expression System
The client approached us with a recombinant strain validated at laboratory scale. However, the existing process was not suitable for industrial application. This project focused on E. coli recombinant protein scale-up, addressing fermentation optimization and replacing costly HPLC nickel affinity purification with a scalable and economically viable downstream strategy.
To enable economic and operational feasibility, both upstream and downstream processes required substantial redesign.
Process Optimization & Cost Reduction
A structured optimization program was initiated to support E. coli recombinant protein scale-up, addressing yield, process efficiency, and overall production cost.
Through the implementation of multiple Design of Experiments approaches and systematic comparison of feeding regimes, the fermentation process was significantly improved, resulting in a 6.6-fold increase in yield and reinforcing process robustness for industrial scale-up.
In parallel, media composition and feeding strategies were redesigned, leading to an approximate 77% reduction in media costs. Further process refinement enabled a 30% reduction in overall process time, improving operational throughput and manufacturing efficiency.
Collectively, these improvements translated into a substantial reduction in the cost of the recombinant protein, transforming the process from a laboratory concept into an economically scalable E. coli production platform.
6.6×
Yield Increase
Higher protein output per batch
77%
Media Cost Reduction
Optimized media & feeding regime
30%
Shorter Process Time
Improved operational efficiency
Scale-Up
The optimized process was successfully scaled to a 1,000L fermenter, enabling the production of material for field testing.
Project Duration: 4 months
