Control of glucose supply
EnBase technology is a key element within every EnPresso growth system, offering a novel approach to control the feeding, and thereby growth, of microbial cultures.
A glucose-releasing agent breaks down long chains of polysaccharides, releasing glucose units to feed the microbes. Control of glucose release (the ‘feed’) controls the rate of growth enabling microbes to remain in linear growth. In conventional growth media, microbes grow in an uncontrolled manner, produce harmful metabolites and, due to their fast respiration, deplete oxygen from the medium.
Control of pH
Each EnPresso growth system is designed to maintain an optimal pH for the growth of the specific microbe. The figure above demonstrates the ability of EnPresso B to maintain optimal pH compared to conventional growth media used for E. coli. Conventional mineral salt media, despite the use of buffering chemicals, suffer from decreasing pH as acid is generated and ammonia removed by microbial metabolism. When growing microbes in LB or TB media, oxidative deamination of amino acids results in increasing pH – a significant problem in well-aerated cultures as insufficient availability of non-nitrogenous carbon sources favors this oxidative process.
Note: Even the best-designed growth media will under-perform if the surrounding environment is less than optimal, for example, poor aeration will result in lack of oxygen which will stunt cell growth. The protocols provided with EnPresso growth systems are optimized for the most common growth formats i.e. Erlenmeyer shake flasks and 24 deep well plates. Instructions also cover the use of Ultra Yield shake flasks.