A new polysialic acid production process based on dual-stage pH control and fed-batch fermentation for higher yield and resulting high molecular weight product.

To determine the factors influencing the resulting molecular weight of polysialic acid (PSA), batch fermentations by using Escherichia coli were conducted. It was found that temperature and pH were significant factors affecting the PSA production and its resulting molecular weight. When pH was set at 6.4, temperature of 37 °C was suitable for cell growth and PSA production while 33 °C facilitated production of higher molecular weight of PSA. pH 6.4 was favorable for PSA production while pH 7.4 was good for higher molecular weight of PSA at 37 °C. Intramolecular self-cleavage of PSA might lead to relatively low molecular weight under mild acidic condition. Our data suggest that the PSA molecular weight is significantly affected by the pH condition rather than the temperature. It is concluded that the resulting PSA molecular weight not only depends on fermentation conditions but also relates to cell growth rate and PSA production rate. Higher PSA molecular weight was made when its production rate was faster than degradation rate. A novel two-stage pH control fermentation process for production of high molecular weight PSA was developed. At the first stage, pH was set at 6.4 to encourage cell growth and PSA production, whereas pH was set at 7.4 at the second stage to promote the formation of higher molecular weight PSA. PSA yield up to 5.65 g/L and its resulting molecular weight of 260 kDa was attained, the highest level ever reported.