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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Chem. Eng.
Sec. Biochemical Engineering
Volume 6 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fceng.2024.1481257

Optimization of manufacturing process for serotype 14 pneumococcal capsular polysaccharide

Provisionally accepted
Yuelong Li Yuelong Li 1Yongxue Xu Yongxue Xu 1*Xin Cao Xin Cao 1*Yanyan Wang Yanyan Wang 1*Jianlong Wang Jianlong Wang 1Yi Zhao Yi Zhao 1*Hui Wang Hui Wang 1*Hantian Yao Hantian Yao 2*Jiankai Liu Jiankai Liu 1*
  • 1 Beijing Minhai Biotechnology Co. Ltd, Beijing, China
  • 2 Center for Infectious Disease Research, School of Medicine, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Streptococcus pneumoniae is a pathogenic bacterium causing various infections, such as pneumonia, meningitis, otitis media and bacteremia. Prevention of pneumococcal disease by vaccination has become more urgent due to increasing antibiotic resistance. Pneumococcal capsular polysaccharides (CPSs) are effective vaccine antigens that stimulate the host to produce protective antibodies. Currently S. pneumoniae serotype 14 is one of most prevalent types in Latin America and worldwide. However, the yield of S. pneumoniae serotype 14 CPS from existing fermentation processes remains low and needs to be improved. In this study various aspects of the fermentation process were optimized to improve pneumococcal growth and polysaccharide productivity, including feed medium, cultivation gas environment, fermentation pH and temperature; in the meantime, a simplified purification method was developed to obtain pure CPS which includes ultrafiltration, acid and ethanol precipitation, diafiltration and finally lyophilization. The results demonstrated that these fermentation optimizations significantly enhanced the optical density of pneumococcal bacterial cultures and increased fermentation yield to 2.4-2.6 g/L, significantly higher than previous reports in the literature and patents.Moreover, the test results of pure CPS could meet the requirements in the European Pharmacopoeia (11 th edition). These optimizations provide valuable insights into the nutritional requirements and the impact of varying fermentation process parameters on pneumococcal growth and CPS productivity, and this will contribute to the development of a more efficient and cost-effective method for the production of pneumococcal CPSs, which is essential for the manufacturing of vaccines against pneumococcal infections.

    Keywords: capsular polysaccharide, Fermentation, yield, purification, Serotype 14

    Received: 15 Aug 2024; Accepted: 04 Oct 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Li, Xu, Cao, Wang, Wang, Zhao, Wang, Yao and Liu. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence:
    Yongxue Xu, Beijing Minhai Biotechnology Co. Ltd, Beijing, China
    Xin Cao, Beijing Minhai Biotechnology Co. Ltd, Beijing, China
    Yanyan Wang, Beijing Minhai Biotechnology Co. Ltd, Beijing, China
    Yi Zhao, Beijing Minhai Biotechnology Co. Ltd, Beijing, China
    Hui Wang, Beijing Minhai Biotechnology Co. Ltd, Beijing, China
    Hantian Yao, Center for Infectious Disease Research, School of Medicine, Tsinghua University, Beijing, 100084, China
    Jiankai Liu, Beijing Minhai Biotechnology Co. Ltd, Beijing, China

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.