| Plant cells have the potential to produce a wide variety of economically important products. The magnetofluidized bed bioreactor (MFB) which offers continuous, plug-flow biocatalyst throughput, is well suited for production of intracellularly stored plant metabolites. A MFB system, featuring a magnetic valve for solids (MVS), has been assembled, operated, and refined. The MFB has been operated with soybean cell culture, producing daidzein and genistein for up to 2 months. Soybean cells were co-immobilized with ferritic stainless steel in calcium alginate beads. Biocatalyst microscopy and Thiele modulus calculations indicated that oxygen diffusion in the biocatalyst was not rate limiting in this system. Continuous operation of the MFB, featuring dissolved O... |
