Microbial Physiology and Fermentation Technology

The course aims to familiarize participants with the integrated, interdisciplinary approach required in modern biotechnology. Microbial physiologists, enzymologists and (bio)chemical engineers from the faculty staff, together with invited (inter)national experts from other universities and industry, will offer a combination of theoretical and practical work, resulting in an intensive and in-depth treatment of the state-of-the-art. At the same time, the course provides the necessary link between, on one hand, fundamental subjects (e.g. biochemistry / enzymology) and, on the other hand, practical applications in large-scale biotechnological processes.

Date: Jan 12-23, 2015

Target audience: Professionals (MSc, PhD or equivalent experience) in microbiology, biochemistry or biochemical engineering with a basic working knowledge of the two other disciplines. Also, molecular biologists with a microbial background may apply. The course is primarily aimed at those already employed in industry who wish to up-date their theoretical knowledge and practical insight in this field.

Program: The lectures are mainly scheduled in the mornings and the early evenings. In the lectures, attention will be paid to the following themes:

Energy transduction and growth thermodynamics
Kinetics and stoichiometry of growth and product formation
Regulation of metabolism by environmental parameters
High-cell density fermentation
Metabolic networks: stoichiometry and fluxes
Rate based design
Regulation and control of metabolic fluxes
Metabolic engineering
Heterogeneity and mixed cultures
Capita selecta

Afternoon program: Demo’s in fed-batch fermentation. Discussions and interpretation of results. On- and off-line measurements in the gas and liquid phase of reaction parameters and determination of the kinetics of biological conversions. Statistical data processing using mass balances. Tutorials in setting-up and simulating computer models of metabolic networks. Introduction to methods for upscaling. Possibilities to visit the research projects of the Graduate School Biotechnological Sciences Delft Leiden, BSDL.

Course website: http://www.bsdl-edu.bt.tudelft.nl/