Co-hosted by the Department of Manufacturing Engineering, and the School of Management , Boston University.

Emerging Technology and Best Practices Seminar Series

Speaker: Wayne R. Curtis (Bio)

Title:  Application of High Productivity Bioreactors in Biofuels Initiatives

Abstract: 
A series of bioreactor-related projects that initiated my sabbatical in Boston, and developed through my interaction with George Church’s DOE/GtL center will be presented.  Although I came to Cambridge to assist as start-up company with the growth of algae in bioreactors for biodiesel production, the bio-energy initiative (combined with our labs extensive experience in bioreactor design and operation) has lead to a diverse group of bioreactor projects.  In conjunction with Argonne National Labs (Hansen/Laible), we have grown the photo-heterotrophic anaerobe Rhodobacter sphaeroides on succinate to cell concentrations approaching 10-g/L for the production of membrane proteins.  We have refined a viral-amplified plant gene expression system and carried out transient gene expression in a 60-L plant cell culture bioreactor to permit transgenic plant protein expression in only 5-days.  Finally, we are adapting a fed-batch E. coli fermentation capable of OD600 > 25 for the production of M13 phage ss-DNA for use in producing DNA nanotube liquid crystals using “DNA origami” for membrane protein structural determination (Church/Shih).  If time (and legal entities) permit, I will briefly describe high productivity ‘vodka’ fermentation project (>10% EtOH) that has evolved into developing biomass fermentation using Clostridia species (Leshine, UMass). 

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