Online Raman spectroscopy for bioprocess monitoring

Online monitoring of bioprocesses is essential to expanding the potential of biotechnology. In this thesis, a system to estimate concentrations of chemical components of an Escherichia Coli fermentation growth medium via a remote fiber-optic Raman spectroscopy probe was studied in depth. The system was characterized to determine sources of instability and systematic error. A complete first-order error analysis was conducted to determine the theoretical sensitivity of the instrument. A suite of improvements and new features, including an online estimation of optical density and biomass, a method to correct for wavelength shifts, and a setup to increase repeatability and throughput for offline and calibration methods was developed accordingly. The theoretical and experimental ground work for developing a correction for spectrum distortions caused by elastic scattering, a fundamental problem for many spectroscopic applications, was laid out. In addition, offline Raman spectroscopy was used to estimate concentrations of fructose, glucose, sucrose, and nitrate in an oil palm (Elais guineensis) bioreaction. Finally, an expansion of optical techniques into new scale-up applications in plant cell bioprocesses, such as plant call differentiation was explored.

Department dc:contributor.department

Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dept. of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science.

Grantor dc:publisher

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Year dc:date.issued

2005

Author dc:creator

• Gil, Gustavo Adolfo

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Rajeev Ram.

• Electrical Engineering and Computer Science.

Statement dc:rights

• M.I.T. theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission. See provided URL for inquiries about permission.

Licence dc:rights.uri

• http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582

Language dc:language.iso

eng

Handle dc:identifier.uri

http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/36757

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:dspace.mit.edu:1721.1/36757