DCCE UCT Prague

Group Focus

The focus of the Bioprocess Control Laboratory research group is to model and control processes using populations of living microorganisms to produce useful substances such as biopolymers or antibiotics.

Data mining methods as well as methods of obtaining knowledge from various types of information and data sources (e.g. time courses, frequency spectra) and methods of modelling of bioprocesses including physiological ones are investigated. Intelligent methods of physiological control of bioprocesses such as knowledge-based supervisory process control, fuzzy on-line classification of physiological states or artificial neural networks as software sensors are studied.

The theoretical results are consistently verified by experimental cultivations in the laboratory and also applied in the development of multi-agent knowledge management systems for the control of specific model bioprocesses. More recently, these are the production processes of the mcl-PHA biopolymer by the Pseudomonas putida strain or the production process of the antibiotic nystatin by the Streptomyces noursei strain.

Members

• 1 professor
• 1 associate professor
• 2 doctoral students

Leader: assoc. prof. Pavel Hrnčiřík

Publications

Hrnčiřík, P., Moucha, T., Mareš, J., Náhlík, J., Janáčová, D.: Software Sensors for Biomass Concentration Estimation in Filamentous Microorganism Cultivation Process. Chemical and Biochemical Engineering Quarterly 33(1), 2019, pp. 141-151.
Hrnčiřík, P., Náhlík, J., Mareš, J.: Strategies for Automated Control of the Bioproduction of the mcl-PHAs Biopolymers. Chemical and Biochemical Engineering Quarterly 31(3), 2017, pp. 207-216.
Náhlík, J., Hrnčiřík, P., Mareš, J., Rychtera, M., Kent, C.A.: Towards the design of an optimal strategy for the production of ergosterol from Saccharomyces cerevisiae yeasts. Biotechnology Progress 33(3), 2017, pp. 838-848.
Mareš J., Kukal J., Hrnčiřík P., Náhlik J.,: Process state classification of fed-batch fermentation based on process variables analysis. Biochemical Engineering Journal (112), 2016, pp. 178-185.
Kukal, J., Mareš, J., Hrnčiřík, P., Náhlík, J. Klimt, M.: Automated Classification of Bioprocess Based on Optimum Compromise Whitening and Clustering. Chemical and Biochemical Engineering Quarterly 2015, 29(4), pp. 297-306.

Research projects

Znalostní řízení biotechnologické výroby antibiotika nystatin, TAČR Alfa programme, Project No. TA03010165, 2013 – 2015
Sustainable Microbial and Biocatalytic Production of Advanced Functional Materials - BIOPRODUCTION, EC 6 FP, Project No. NMP2-CT-2007-026515, 2006 - 2010
Enhanced, Intelligent Processing of Food Wastes using Thermophilic Populations – INTELLTHERMCONTROL, EC 5 FP, Project No. QLK3-CT-1999-00004, 2000 – 2004
Knowledge-Based Control and Operation of Industrial Productive Bioprocesses, EC COPERNICUS programme, Project No. ERB-CIPA-CT94-0205, 1995 – 1998