Comprehensive Teaching and Learning Approach for Bioprocess Integration: A Case Study in Chromoprotein Bioproduction

In the production of biomolecules of industrial interest, bioprocesses must ensure economic viability and sustainability. However, in biochemical or biotechnology academic programs, there seems to be a lack of integrated approaches to holistic bioprocess design. Currently, there is a strong emphasis on molecular biology, genetics, or derived technologies, overlooking aspects such as lab-scale production, purification strategies suited for a given biomolecule, and cost evaluation for large-scale production processes. This study proposes a comprehensive approach to bioprocess development for undergraduate education. It includes fundamental molecular biology and genetics for producing a genetically modified Escherichia coli strain, upstream and bioreactor technology, downstream technologies tailored to biomolecule characteristics, and economic evaluation. This article details educational strategies centered around a collaborative project for recombinant protein production (chromoproteins), implemented and assessed through various Biotechnology Engineering courses. The findings show that students gained a comprehensive understanding of chromoproteins production at the lab scale. They made significant progress in acquiring technical skills in molecular biology, genetic engineering, and biomolecule production goals, as well as estimating bioreactor scales and selecting and calculating upstream and downstream processes based on lab-scale data. Integrating specialized software tools such as Benchling for recombinant technology, MATLAB for unitary processes modeling, and SuperPro Designer for economic and technical studies significantly enhanced student confidence and proficiency in evaluating and sizing bioprocesses for chromoprotein production. They also pointed out the importance of chromatographic processes in protein recovery. Overall, these holistic educational strategies facilitated a more profound skill acquisition, preparing students to thoroughly design and evaluate bioprocesses.