Continuous catalytic production of 1,3-dihydroxyacetone: Sustainable approach combining perfusion cultures and immobilized cells

Yang Sun; Tang Liu; Jianqi Nie; Jie Yan; Jiacheng Tang; Kuiqi Jin; Chunyang Li; Hua Li; Yupeng Liu; Zhonghu Bai

doi:10.1016/j.biortech.2024.130734

Continuous catalytic production of 1,3-dihydroxyacetone: Sustainable approach combining perfusion cultures and immobilized cells

Bioresour Technol. 2024 Apr 25:401:130734. doi: 10.1016/j.biortech.2024.130734. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Yang Sun¹, Tang Liu², Jianqi Nie³, Jie Yan⁴, Jiacheng Tang⁵, Kuiqi Jin⁶, Chunyang Li⁷, Hua Li⁸, Yupeng Liu⁹, Zhonghu Bai¹⁰

Affiliations

¹ School of Life Sciences, Henan University, Kaifeng 475004, China; Henan Key Laboratory of Synthetic Biology and Biomanufacturing, Kaifeng 475004, China; Engineering Research Center for Applied Microbiology of Henan Province, Kaifeng 475004, China. Electronic address: sunyangsuofei@126.com.
² School of Life Sciences, Henan University, Kaifeng 475004, China; Henan Key Laboratory of Synthetic Biology and Biomanufacturing, Kaifeng 475004, China; Engineering Research Center for Applied Microbiology of Henan Province, Kaifeng 475004, China. Electronic address: 104754211527@henu.edu.cn.
³ Key Laboratory of Carbohydrate Chemistry and Biotechnology, Ministry of Education, School of Life Sciences and Health Engineering, Jiangnan University, Wuxi 214122, China. Electronic address: niejianqi@jiangnan.edu.cn.
⁴ School of Life Sciences, Henan University, Kaifeng 475004, China. Electronic address: 18339732259@163.com.
⁵ School of Life Sciences, Henan University, Kaifeng 475004, China; Henan Key Laboratory of Synthetic Biology and Biomanufacturing, Kaifeng 475004, China; Engineering Research Center for Applied Microbiology of Henan Province, Kaifeng 475004, China. Electronic address: tjc0909@henu.edu.cn.
⁶ Chengdu Yingde Biological Pharmaceutical Equipment Co., Ltd.,Chengdu 610000,China. Electronic address: jinkuiqi@bioyd.com.
⁷ Chengdu Yingde Biological Pharmaceutical Equipment Co., Ltd.,Chengdu 610000,China. Electronic address: lcy@bioyd.com.
⁸ School of Life Sciences, Henan University, Kaifeng 475004, China; Henan Key Laboratory of Synthetic Biology and Biomanufacturing, Kaifeng 475004, China; Engineering Research Center for Applied Microbiology of Henan Province, Kaifeng 475004, China. Electronic address: lihua@henu.edu.cn.
⁹ School of Life Sciences, Henan University, Kaifeng 475004, China; Henan Key Laboratory of Synthetic Biology and Biomanufacturing, Kaifeng 475004, China; Engineering Research Center for Applied Microbiology of Henan Province, Kaifeng 475004, China. Electronic address: liuyupeng@henu.edu.cn.
¹⁰ National Engineering Research Center of Cereal Fermentation and Food Biomanufacturing, Jiangnan University, Wuxi 214122, China. Electronic address: baizhonghu@jiangnan.edu.cn.

PMID: 38670288
DOI: 10.1016/j.biortech.2024.130734

Abstract

Currently, the predominant method for the industrial production of 1,3-dihydroxyacetone (DHA) from glycerol involves fed-batch fermentation. However, previous research has revealed that in the biocatalytic synthesis of DHA from glycerol, when the DHA concentration exceeded 50 g·L^-1, it significantly inhibited microbial growth and metabolism, posing a challenge in maintaining prolonged and efficient catalytic production of DHA. In this study, a new integrated continuous production and synchronous separation (ICSS) system was constructed using hollow fiber columns and perfusion culture technology. Additionally, a cell reactivation technique was implemented to extend the biocatalytic ability of cells. Compared with fed-batch fermentation, the ICSS system operated for 360 h, yielding a total DHA of 1237.8 ± 15.8 g. The glycerol conversion rate reached 97.7 %, with a productivity of 3.44 g·L^-1·h^-1, representing 485.0 % increase in DHA production. ICSS system exhibited strong operational characteristics and excellent performance, indicating significant potential for applications in industrial bioprocesses.

Keywords: 1,3-dihydroxyacetone; Cell regeneration; Continuous culture; Dynamical model; Hollow fiber membrane.