Brief

Christian Hansen is the world's largest supplier of chymosin, an enzyme utilised in cheese production. In a move to develop more efficient chymosin production, Christian Hansen approached Upfront to develop a customised process, based on its expanded bed adsorption technology, for isolation of chymosin from fermentation broth.

Objectives

• To develop a customised process for the capture of chymosin directly from Christian Hansen's fermentation broth
• Meet defined goals for yield, activity and purity of the target protein
• Transfer process to Christian Hansen

Methods

• A feasibility study was performed to identify suitable adsorbents for chymosin capture
• 5 different adsorbents were identified through screening of Upfront's in-house adsorbent library and the best performing adsorbent was selected for further process optimisation
• Process steps were optimised, including buffer composition and pH conditions, to ensure that the final process developed would combine maximum efficiency with the economies required for large-scale production
• The proposed process was transferred to Christian Hansen through training sessions

Results

• The feasibility study report was delivered ahead of schedule
• The process utilised a customised adsorbent with mixed mode functionality, so the product was selectively bound
• The customised process eliminated the need for further product concentrating unit operations, thus reducing process time, improving yields and process efficiency
• Christian Hansen and Upfront entered a license and supply agreement
• The proposed process replaced the existing technology, which was based on classical unit operation, and enabled improved production economy
• FDA Food Contact Notification status was obtained for the customised adsorbent
• Upfront has been supplying adsorbents to Christian Hansen since 1999