Quantitative measurements in single-cell analysis: towards scalability in microbial bioprocess development

Abstract

Single-cell analysis in microfluidic cultivation devices bears a great potential for the development and optimization of industrial bioprocesses. High parallelization allows running a large number of cultivation experiments simultaneously even under quick alteration of environmental conditions. For example, the impact of changes in media composition on cell growth during classical batch cultivation can be easily resolved. A missing link for the scalability of microfluidic experiments is, however, their complete characterization via conventional performance indicators such as product titer and productivity. While existing mass spectrometry technology is not yet sufficiently coupled with microfluidics, optical methods like enzymatic assays or fluorescence sensors are promising alternatives but require further improvement to generate quantitative measurements of extracellular metabolites.