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Biotechnology laboratory

Biotechnology laboratory

In the biotechnology laboratory, we deal with the production of recombinant proteins and monoclonal antibodies for immunization, diagnostic and therapeutical uses. Depending on the requirements for a recombinant protein product, we use the eukaryotic cells (e.g. insect cells), bacteria, or their specific parts and metabolites for the production and isolation of protein of interest. The whole biotechnological process is divided into two principal steps – the cultivation (so-called upstream processes) and further processing and quality control (so-called downstream processes). The upstream processes consist of the cultivation of cells in bioreactors, including proceedings related to genetic engineering, inoculum production, cultivation media optimization, and optimization of growth kinetics for a product’s high yield expression. The downstream processes consist of inoculum or cell harvesting, protein extraction using physical (high-pressure homogenization), chemical, or enzymatic methods. The isolation and purification of proteins of interest are provided by chromatographic methods (e.g. affinity, ion-exchange, and gel-permeation chromatography) with the aim of preparing a final product meeting all quality and purity requirements.

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Laboratory equipment

Upstream processes:

  • Ultracentrifuge Optima XPN-100 (Beckman Coulter)
  • Gradient Fractionator (Biocomp)
  • Kruss Abbe AR4 Refractometer
  • Microfluidizer M-110L (Microfluidcs, USA)
  • KrosFlo TFF System KR2i (SpectrumLabs) Tangential Flow Filtration System
  • SartoflowSmart (Sartorius) Tangential Flow Filtration System
  • Ni-NTA affinity chromatography
  • HPLC 1260 Infinity II (Agilent Technologies)
  • Field-flow fractionation (FFF) system (Agilent Technologies and Wyat Technology)
  • Philips 208s Electron Microscope Morgagni (FEI, Czech Republic)
  • Lyophilisator
  • ELISA washer DYNAWASH (Dynex)
  • ELISA reader BioTek Synergy 2
  • Western blot equipment (Biorad)

Downstream processes:

  • Eppendorf centrifuge 5920R
  • SAFE 1.8 biohazard Herasafe (Thermo Fisher) laminar flow boxes
  • Thermostat 37°C, 5% CO2 (Thermo Fisher)
  • Cultivation systems for insect cells: New Brunswick™ Innova® 43/43R Incubator Shaker 43R refrigerated (28°C); for insect and mammalian cells: Biostat B 20 RM bioreactor (Sartorius); for bacteria, yeast cells, E. coli - Fermenter (Solida Biotech)
  • Cultivation systems for production of monoclonal antibodies: miniPERM (Sarstedt) and FiberCell Systems (FiberCell Systems, Inc)
  • QuantStudio™ 3/5 (Thermo Fisher)

Current research topics

  • Producing chimeric recombinant antigen VP1_PCV2_Cap in insect cells using a baculovirus expression system to prepare porcine circovirus vaccine and for diagnosticsv
  • Producing monoclonal antibodies against porcine circovirus for diagnostics
  • Producing virus-like particles of bovine papillomavirus to prepare vaccines against skin tumors in horse
  • Producing antigens for experimental vaccine against Zika virus

Head of the Laboratory

Laboratory team