Fermentation Facility
Director: N. Patrick Higgins, PhD
Department/Center Association: Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics
Established: 1984
Mission
The Fermentation Facility at UAB offers a wide range of capabilities for the custom
production of bacterial and animal cell cultures under a wide variety of conditions for research,
education, and service. Facility services are available to scientists at UAB, to those at other
universities, and to those working in industry.
Facility Description
The facilities are housed at the Cancer Research Center located on campus and are
staffed by a director/biochemist, a manager/engineer, and a research assistant.
The facility includes five fermentors – two with a 12-liter working volume, one with a
working volume of 24 liters, one with a working volume of 60 liters, and one with a working
volume of 375 liters. The culture liquid in the 24 liter, 60 liter and 375 liter fermentors can be
controlled automatically with a newly installed software control system. The control system
monitors and controls the following: dissolved oxygen levels, pH, temperature and agitation, as
well as the base and antifoam addition increments. Moreover, each fermentor can be sterilized
in-place. Facilities are available for rapid temperature shifts of the culture liquid, including rapid
cooling.
Cells can be separated from culture liquid by either centrifugation or by membrane
filtration. It is possible to recover all of the biomass from a 375 liter fermentation into a small
volume of cold buffer (6-7 liters) in 15-20 minutes. In addition, cell breakage by continuous-flow
French press, as well as separation and concentration of the components is possible.
Purification by either batch steps or chromatography is also available. Furthermore, an adjacent
laboratory is equipped for diverse small scale preparative and analytical work.
Capabilities for small scale animal cell culture and some virus production are also
available, including up to 32 T-175 flasks and 8 x 3 liter spinner flasks. The fermentation facility
keeps a supply of Hela S3 cells available for purchase in gram quantities.
Research Information
Services. The Fermentation Facility provides custom production of bacteria, animal cells
and viruses that require physical containment levels up to BSL-2. It also allows for the
purification of products. The following processes are available: microbial growth – including the
separation from culture liquid, disruption of cells, and the separation of cellular debris; the
bioprocessing of protein and non-protein biological products – including concentration, fractional
precipitation, column chromatography, microfiltration, ultrafiltration, dialysis, buffer exchange,
and lyophilization; and product development including all of these procedures. Analytical
techniques include HPLC, GC, protein electrophoresis, DNA electrophoresis, enzyme assay,
microbial counts, and gas analysis.
Please check the Fermentation Facility website for updates and enzyme clinic information.
Fermentation services are offered to UAB researchers at very reasonable rates. Please contact
us for an estimate.
Contact Information
Engineering Manager: J. Woody Robbins, BChe, MS
Email: woody@uab.edu
Phone: 205-934-5561
Web Site: http://fermentation.bmg.uab.edu
Approved by: J. Woody Robbins, BChe, MS, Engineering Manager
Date: February 14, 2007
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