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The economics of inclusion body processing

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Abstract

Many recombinant proteins are often over-expressed in host cells, such as Escherichia coli, and are found as insoluble and inactive protein aggregates known as inclusion bodies (IBs). Recently, a novel process for IB extraction and solubilisation, based on chemical extraction, has been reported. While this method has the potential to radically intensify traditional IB processing, the process economics of the new technique have yet to be reported. This study focuses on the evaluation of process economics for several IB processing schemes based on chemical extraction and/or traditional techniques. Simulations and economic analysis were conducted at various processing conditions using granulocyte macrophage-colony stimulating factor, expressed as IBs in E. coli, as a model protein. In most cases, IB processing schemes based on chemical extraction having a shorter downstream cascade demonstrated a competitive economic edge over the conventional route, validating the new process as an economically more viable alternative for IB processing.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, National University of Singapore, 10 Kent Ridge Crescent, 117576, Singapore, Singapore

    G. H. Lee & W. S. Choe

  2. Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Cambridge, Pembroke Street, CB2 3RA, Cambridge, UK

    D. Cooney

  3. Centre for Biomolecular Engineering, Division of Chemical Engineering, University of Queensland, 4072, St Lucia, QLD, Australia

    A. P. J. Middelberg

  4. Department of Chemical Engineering, Sungkyunkwan University, 440-746, Suwon, Korea

    W. S. Choe

Authors
  1. G. H. Lee
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  2. D. Cooney
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  3. A. P. J. Middelberg
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  4. W. S. Choe
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Correspondence to W. S. Choe.

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Lee, G.H., Cooney, D., Middelberg, A.P.J. et al. The economics of inclusion body processing. Bioprocess Biosyst Eng 29, 73–90 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00449-006-0047-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00449-006-0047-2

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