From bioreactor to bottle: real-time viability monitoring in next-generation probiotic manufacturing
About this poster
Next-generation probiotics (NGPs) and live biotherapeutic products (LBPs) — such as Akkermansia muciniphila — are extremely sensitive to oxygen and the mechanical stresses of downstream processing. Traditional CFU counting is slow (a three-day, retrospective assay) and misses injured and viable-but-non-culturable cells.
In this collaboration with Biose Industrie, flow-cytometry AFU is used as a real-time process analytical technology (PAT): live, injured, and dead populations are read in about 15 minutes at each decision gate — post-fermentation, post-lyophilization, and post-packaging — so manufacturing can adjust in real time rather than after the fact.
The result is a shift from growth-based to physiology-based quality metrics, supported here by six-month stability data — helping ensure NGP products reach patients in peak physiological condition.
Highlights
- Real-time viability as PAT (~15-min AFU vs 3-day CFU)
- Decision gates: post-fermentation, post-lyophilization, post-packaging
- Detects injured and VBNC cells that CFU counts miss
- Six-month stability data on A. muciniphila
Co-authored with Rishi Trivedi, PhD (Biose Industrie).