Govind Rao, a professor of chemical, biochemical, and environmental engineering as well as the director for the Center for Advanced Sensor Technology (CAST) was recently quoted in Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology News.
“Advances in DNA biology, particularly those of the past three decades, catalyzed the emergence and expansion of experimental approaches to manipulate gene expression. Subsequently, these advances impacted protein science, a field that found itself increasingly positioned at the juncture of technology, science, and art,” wrote Richard Stein, in the article.
“We are trying to make bioprocessing more intelligent and provide a greater degree of measurement at all stages,” said Govind Rao, Ph.D., professor of chemical, biochemical, and environmental engineering and director of the Center for Advanced Sensor Technology at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC). A major effort in Dr. Rao’s lab is focused on developing noninvasive, disposable sensors to actively monitor culture parameters during growth.
“Most biological processes are very complex, and many parameters change during the growth of a culture,” added Dr. Rao. Recently, Dr. Rao and colleagues described the use of triple disposable noninvasive optical sensors that can be positioned inside culture flasks, and revealed that pH, oxygen level, and carbon dioxide level can be dynamically monitored during E. coli fermentation to collect information that would not be routinely available from shake flasks.
According to a paper co-authored by Dr. Rao in Biotechnology Progress in 2012, the sensitive element of the disposable noninvasive optical sensors is a thin, luminescent patch affixed inside the flask. The paper also noted that small electronic devices for excitation and fluorescence detection are positioned outside the shake flask for noninvasive monitoring.”
