Functional food & metabolism

3R-BioMedicUS

Research group of Prof Ralf Takors

Our Research

Research at the Institute of Biochemical Engineering (IBVT, University of Stuttgart) mainly focuses on the development of novel biomanufacturing processes, also including active pharma ingredients and biopharmaceuticals. The journey towards the most efficient way to obtain the final bioproduct involves cycles of process optimization, involving the fine tuning of cells, cultivation conditions, and bioreactor settings. Thorough computational modeling and experimental analysis guide cell and process engineering, e.g. to install automated design-build-test-learn cycles for engineering cells and to design industrial scale bioreactors.

Among others, our research studies focus on mammalian cells, among which, most recently, selected cell lines for the production of tissue, for applications such as “designer” meat grown in a culture dish. As an important competence, we have developed dedicated metabolomics technologies for studying the internal cellular (intracellular) environment of mammalian cells. Likewise, our studies allow to investigate cellular compartments (cytosol, mitochondrion, Golgi, ER) and will support the 3R principles by providing insights into intracellular cellular status and activities.

Focus on the 3Rs

Our detailed understanding of metabolomic activities within cells will be applied for instance, to identify cellular responses after the exposure to drugs. The measurement of intracellular metabolites mapped to their compartments and the quantification of intracellular flux maps allows to address the following questions: What regulation programs are triggered? Can we learn from the regulation programs to qualify the drug effectiveness? Are there biomarkers that may serve as robust criteria for qualifying the suitability of the drugs? Such studies are performed with isolated cells, that we complement with research on cultivated tissues grown in the lab under defined bioreactor conditions. Such studies, although performed in a culture dish, can inform about metabolic reactions at organ and potentially organism level, reducing and replacing animal experiments.

Contact

This image shows Ralf Takors

Ralf Takors

Prof. Dr.-Ing.

3R-BioMedicUS Member

This image shows Raluca Tamas

Raluca Tamas

Dr. rer. nat.

3R-BioMedicUS Scientific Coordinator

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