Case Study: Pivot Bio accelerates microbial fertilizer development with Culture Biosciences

Pivot Bio speeds bioprocess optimization with Culture Biosciences and cuts activation wait time to 48 hours

Pivot Bio is working to replace synthetic nitrogen fertilizers by developing microbial fertilizers using nitrogen-fixing bacteria. A key challenge was optimizing the fermentation bioprocess for these microbes, which had been genetically edited to continuously produce ammonia. This process required fine-tuning many parameters to achieve high cell density, stability, and functionality in a ready-to-use product that could be stored and shipped at ambient temperatures. To accelerate this development, they partnered with Culture Biosciences.

Culture Biosciences provided its cloud bioreactor platform, enabling Pivot Bio to run high-throughput experiments and quickly gather the data needed to identify optimal process conditions. This allowed Pivot Bio to test a vast number of parameters in a short time. The solution developed in Culture's 250mL vessels scaled successfully to larger production tanks. This accelerated process optimization was crucial for launching a stable, ready-to-use microbial product for farmers.

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