Lehrgebiet für Bioverfahrenstechnik (BioVT)

Plant cell culture & macroalgae culture

(German title: Pflanzliche Zellkultur & Makroalgenkultur)

The use of plant cell cultures for the production of pharmacologically active compounds has been studied for a long time. Nevertheless, industrial application has so far been limited to a few examples. However, the wide range of biologically active compounds in plants requires further process engineering developments in order to establish new processes. The Chair of Bioprocess Engineering focuses in particular on the cultivation of CMCs (cambial meristematic cells) from basil for the production of triterpenes and on the extraction of sulphated heteropolysaccharides from brown algae and their cultivation in bioreactors. In this area, innovative processing technologies are also being developed that deliver highly purified heteropolysaccharides. Their pharmacological efficacy is being investigated in detail with cooperation partners. In the field of triterpenes, particular attention is paid to oleanolic and ursolic acid. In addition to production using cell culture, these compounds are derivatized using biotechnological processes in order to improve their pharmacological effect, for example. 

Partner

Dr.-Ing. Thomas Hahn (Fraunhofer IGB)

Dr.-Ing. Ahmed Zayed (Tanta University, Ägypten)

StatusCurrent project
Funding organizationState funding Rhineland-Palatinate (basic funding)
Funding periodSince 01/2018
Funding code-
EmployeeJanik Haffelder

Publications and conference papers

Macroalgae culture & heteropolysaccharides

  • R. Ulber (Ed.); Bioactive Compounds from Brown Algae; Marine Drugs (2021) https://doi.org/10.3390/books978-3-0365-2469-6
  • A. Zayed, M.K. Mansour, M.S. Sedeek, M.H. Habib, R. Ulber, M.A. Farag; Bacterial exopolysaccharides: Novel insights on its distribution, biosynthesis, biotechnological production, and potential applications; Critical Reviews in Biotechnology (2021) im Druck
  • A.A. Mohamed, R. Ulber, A. Zayed; Chitosan-Toluidine Blue Beads for Purification of Fucoidans; Carbohydrate Polymers 231 (2020) 115686; https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0144861719313542?via%3Dihub
  • A. Zayed, R. Ulber; Fucoidans: Downstream Processes and Recent Applications; Mar. Drugs 18/170 (2020) doi:10.3390/md18030170
  • A. Zayed, M. El-Aasr, A.-R. Ibrahim, R. Ulber;  Fucoidans characterization: Determination of purity, physico-chemical, and chemical characters for reliable health-promoting benefits; Marine Drugs (2020) https://www.mdpi.com/1660-3397/18/11/571
  • A. Zayed, Y. Haggag, S. M. Ezzat, M. A. Salem, R. Ulber; Fucoidans as nanoparticles: Pharmaceutical and biomedical applications, in: S.-K. Kim et al. (Eds.) Polysaccharides Nanoparticles:  Preparations, biological and biomedical applications, Elsevier (2020) im Druck
  • A. Zayed, T. Hahn, D. Finkelmeier, A. Burger-Kentischer, S. Rupp, R. Krämer, R. Ulber; Phenomenological Investigation of the Cytotoxic Activity of Fucoidan Isolated from Fucus vesiculosus; Process Biochemistry; https://doi.org/10.1016/j.procbio.2019.03.026
  • A. Zayed, M. Kovacheva, K. Muffler, H.-W. Breiner, T. Stoeck, R. Ulber; Induction and Genetic Identification of a Callus-Like Growth Developed in The Brown Alga Fucus vesiculosus; Engineering in Life Sciences, https://doi.org/10.1002/elsc.201800211
  • A. Zayed, R. Ulber, Fucoidan Production: Approval Key Challenges and Opportunities, Carbohydrate Polymers (2019), https://doi.org/10.1016/j.carbpol.2019.01.10
  • A. Zayed, C. Dienemann, C. Giesec, R. Krämer, R. Ulber; An immobilized perylene diimide derivative for fucoidan purification from a crude brown algae extract; Process Biochemistry; https://doi.org/10.1016/j.procbio.2017.10.012
  • A. Zayed, K. Muffler, T. Hahn, S. Rupp, D. Finkelmeier, A. Burger-Kentischer, R. Ulber; Physicochemical and biological characterization of fucoidan from Fucus vesiculosus purified by dye affinity chromatography; Marine Drugs (2016) DOI:10.3390/md1404007
  • T. Hahn, M. Schulz, R. Stadtmüller, L. Kilian, K. Muffler, S. Lang, R. Ulber; A Cationic Dye for the Specific Determination of Sulfated Polysaccharides; Analytical Letters (2016) DOI:10.1080/00032719.2015.1126839
  • T. Hahn, K. Muffler, R. Ulber; Isothermal microcalorimetric studies of Toluidine blue O – sulphated polysaccharides interactions; Journal of Thermal Analysis and Calorimetry, DOI 10.1007/s10973-015-5101-3
  • T. Hahn, A. Zayed, M. Kovacheva, R. Stadtmüller, S. Lang, K. Muffler, R. Ulber; Dye affinity chromatography for fast and simple purification of fucoidan from marine brown algae; Engineering in Life Sciences (2015) DOI: 10.1002/elsc.201500044
  • T. Hahn, S. Lang, R. Ulber, K. Muffler: Novel procedures for the extraction of fucoidan from brown algae, Process Biochemistry 47/12 (2012) 1691–1698

Plant cells & triterpenes

  • A. Mehring, J. Haffelder, J. Chodorski, J. Stiefelmaier, D. Strieth, R. Ulber; Establishment and triterpenoid production of Ocimum basilicum cambial meristematic cells; Plant Cell, Tissue and Organ Culture (2020) DOI : 10.1007/s11240-020-01942-y
  • A. Mehring, R. Ulber; Von der Pflanze zum Produkt - Ein Einblick in die Pflanzenzellkulturtechnik; Online im Portal Wiley Analtical Science (2020) https://analyticalscience.wiley.com/do/10.1002/was.000400067/
  • D. Leipold, G. Wünsch, M. Schmidt, H.-J. Bart, T. Bley, H. E. Neuhaus, H. Bergmann, E. Richling, K. Muffler, R. Ulber; Biosynthesis of ursolic acid derivatives by microbial metabolism of ursolic acid with Nocardia sp. strains–proposal of new biosynthetic pathways; Process Biochemistry 45 (2010) 1043-1051
  • K. Muffler, D. Leipold, M.-C. Scheller, C. Haas, J. Steingroewer, T. Bley, H. E. Neuhaus, M. A. Mirata, J. Schrader, R. Ulber; Biotransformation of triterpenes; Process Biochemistry 46(1) (2011) 1-15
  • S. Schulz, C. Haas, A. I. Pavlov, R. Ulber, T. Bley, J. Steingroewer; Determination of triterpenic acids and screening for valuable secondary metabolites in Salvia sp. suspension cultures; Natural Product Communications 9(1) (2014) 17-20
  • B. Ludwig, D. Geib, C. Haas, J. Steingroewerb, T. Bley, K. Muffler, R. Ulber; Whole-cell biotransformation of oleanolic acid by free and immobilized cells of Nocardia iowensis: Characterization of new metabolites; Eng. Life Sciences (2014) 10.1002/elsc.201400121