Abstract

In the present work, a recombinant Escherichia coli strain was used for the production of interferon α-2b in both shake flask and bioreactor. The first part of this research focused on the investigation of the effect of glucose concentration on the kinetics of cell growth, recombinant protein production and acetate formation. Glucose supplementation to culture medium enhanced cell growth when added in concentration between 0-20 g/L. Further increase in glucose level reduces biomass production and enhances acetate accumulation in culture. On the other hand, the results clearly demonstrated that maximal interferon production of 27.7 mg/L was achieved in culture supplemented with 20 g/L glucose. Further improvement in recombinant protein production process was also achieved by scaling up from shake flask to 16-L stirred tank bioreactor using pH-stat cultivation strategy. The maximal volumetric interferon production in bioreactor batch culture was 44.5. mg/L after only 6 hours.

Key words: rEscharichia coli, interferon α-2b, batch cultivation, glucose effect, bioreactor cultivation