Research directions
Today, computer controlled bioreactors are used to aseptically produce large quantities of important biologicals such as amino acids, recombinant proteins, antibiotics or viral vaccines. Many of the existing as well as potential new drugs are produced in eukaryotic cells which show poor productivity compared to classical fermentation processes. To achieve the full potential of biotechnological production methods, highly developed cell culture technologies and sophisticated product recovery steps have to be established. Furthermore, a detailed description of the complex mechanism underlying cell growth and product formation is indispensable. Consequently, the acquisition of an enormous amount of data on different levels is required to develop and optimize new and existing industrial processes. Ongoing improvements in on- & off-line monitoring facilitate the analysis of cell metabolism, media consumption and product formation in bioreactors or give relevant information on yield or product purity after several chromatographic processes. Furthermore, recent progress in high-throughput analysis of gene and protein expression, protein function or signal transduction will help to elucidate mechanisms of cellular behavior and offer tremendous opportunities for optimizing bioprocesses or develop new applications in pharmacy and medicine.

Mathematical modeling plays a crucial role in analyzing and optimizing cell culture technology. Without such models it is practically impossible to quantitatively understand metabolic pathways and regulatory networks of cells, complex interactions between microorganisms and their environment in a bioreactor or to allow for a rational design of downstream processing steps to maximize yield and purity of the final product. So far, only qualitative aspects of cell growth and product formation are established for most of the existing products.

At present, research focuses on bioprocesses required to prevent and eradicate infectious diseases, which are in terms of product numbers and social impact one of the most challenging areas of cell culture. Mathematical modeling of biological systems as well as monitoring and control of bioprocesses is done in close cooperation with research groups Systems Biology and Systems and Control Theory. Furthermore, analytical methods to better understand aspects of gene expression, metabolism and signal transduction in cellular systems are being developed.

The Bioprocess Engineering group has 5 teams that all have cooperations with the Bioprocess Engineering group at the Otto-von-Guericke-University, Magdeburg

1. Upstream Processing - PD Dr. Yvonne Genzel
Monitoring, Design and Optimization of Bioprocesses Influenza Vaccine Production in Microcarrier Systems and Suspension Cells Flow Cytometric Analysis of Virus-induced Apoptosis and Virus Replication Characterization of Growth, Metabolism and Product Formation of Avian Designer Cells Process Characterisation and Optimisation for a Recombinant Protein Produced by a Novel Human Designer Cell Line Monitoring and Control of High Density Cell Culture Systems Quantitative Analysis of Metabolic and Regulatory Networks of Cellular Systems Quantitative Analysis of Energy Metabolism of Animal Cells Enzymatic Characterization of Mammalian Cells
2. Molecular Biology- Dr. Timo Frensing
The Role of IFN and other Host Cell Defense Mechanisms in Influenza Vaccine Production Biomolecular Analysis of Dynamic Interactions between Influenza Viruses and Host Cells Analysis of Virus-induced Signaling Pathways in Mammalian Host Cell Systems
3. Downstream Processing - Dr. Michael Wolff
Affinity Chromatography of Influenza Virus Continuous Purification of Influenza Virus Downstream Processing of Influenza Virus Particulate Formulation of Influenza Virus Antigen
4. Bio/Process Analytics - Dr. Erdmann Rapp
Tool-Development for Bio/Process Analytics LC-MS Interfaces Improved MALDI-Matrix for Glycoconjugates Method Development for Multiplexing CGE-LIF Based HT/HP/HR Glycoanalysis Software Development for Multiplexing CGE-LIF Based HT/HP/HR Glycoanalysis Software Development for LC-MS/MS Based Metaproteomics Qualitative and Quantitative Analysis of Biotechnological Systems on Glycome Level Viral Glycocalix in Dependence on Host Cell Line, Influenza Virus Strain and Production Process Parameters Human Blood Plasma Glycomics of Large Patient Cohortes for High-Throughput Biomarker Discovery Elucidation of the Carbohydrate Composition of Human Milk Elucidation of Glycosylation Patterns of Recombinant Glycoproteins for Production Process Control and Optimization Qualitative and Quantitative Analysis of Biotechnological Systems on Proteome Level Analysis of Virus-Host Cell Interaction on the Proteome Level Proteomics Along the Adaptation of an Adherent MDCK Cell Line to Growth in Suspension Proteomic Tracking of a Mucoviscidosis Relevant Bacterial Community
5. Mathematical Modeling Approaches - Prof. Dr.-Ing. Udo Reichl
Mathematical Modeling of Cellular Systems SysLogics - Modelling of Central Metabolism Modeling the Dynamics of Influenza Virus Replication in Mammalian Cells Dynamics of Glycolysis and Citric Acid Cycle in Mammalian Cells Mathematical Modeling, Simulation and Control of Bioprocesses Model-based Investigation of Influenza Virus Replication in Mammalian Cell Culture

Cooperations