Bioengineering Bacterial Lab

 Overview:

The Bioengineering Bacterial Laboratory is equipped with the latest biomanufacturing technologies used in the pharmaceutical and bioscience industry. 

Students can culture microorganisms in small scale bioreactors for the production of bioproducts such as antibodies, enzymes, growth factors and vaccine antigens, which are used in the treatment of cancer, immune disorders, infections and disease.

The laboratory features a high-pressure homogeniser for efficient disruption of microbial cells, as well as a comprehensive chromatography system for the purification of proteins, peptides and nucleic acids. Further equipment, such as thermal cyclers and electrophoresis systems, enable students to characterise the bioproduct produced. In conjunction with The Diamond Pilot Plant, the bioprocess can be scaled-up using industrial microbial bioreactors. Facilities also exist for the design, manufacture and testing of student designed systems.

Students will learn:

• How to culture bacteria, yeast and algae in bioreactor systems.
• The experimental processes involved in the manufacture of a bioproduct.
• How to design experiments to measure the quantity and quality of a bioproduct.

What equipment is in this lab?

• Class II Biological Safety Cabinet for microbial cell culture
• Superspeed centrifuge (29,000 rpm, 100,605 x g, 6 x 1 L capacity)
• 3 shaking incubators
• 2 static incubators
• 1L microbial bioreactor
• High pressure homogeniser
• FPLC - fast protein liquid chromatography
• HPLC - high performance liquid chromatography
• Horizontal gel electrophoresis systems for separating nucleic acids
• ChemiDoc imaging system for gels and blots
• Fluorescence plate reader
• Thermal cycler for PCR (polymerase chain reaction)
• UV-Vis spectrophotometers
• pH meter
• NanoPhotometer for Nucleic acids, Proteins and Cells quantification.

Who uses this lab? / Links to Schools and other Departments:

• School of Chemical, Materials and Biological Engineering
• SEFY

Which staff are in this lab?

• Claire Johnson, University Teacher
• Dr Joy Mukherjee, Senior Engineering Technician

Request Use of Equipment:

Please email claire.johnson@sheffield.ac.uk with:

• Your name
• Your degree & year of study
• What equipment you want to use and why

Please allow 3-5 working days for a response.