Presenter: Leo L. Chan, Nexcelom Bioscience, Lawrence, MA
Coauthors: Alexandria Kury, Alisha Wilkinson, and Alnoor
Pirani, Nexcelom Bioscience, Lawrence, MA; Charlotte
Berkes, Merrimack College, North Andover, MA
The study and monitoring of physiological and metabolic
changes in Saccharomyces cerevisiae has been a key research
area for the brewing, baking, and biofuels industries, which
rely on these economically important yeasts to produce
their products. Specifically for breweries, physiological and
metabolic parameters such as viability, vitality, glycogen,
neutral lipid, and trehalose content can be measured to better
understand the status of S. cerevisiae during fermentation.
Traditionally, these physiological and metabolic changes
can be qualitatively observed using fluorescence microscopy
or flow cytometry for quantitative analysis of fluorescently
labeled cellular components associated with each parameter.
However, both methods pose known challenges for the
end-user. Specifically, conventional fluorescent microscopes
lack automation and fluorescence analysis capabilities to
quantitatively analyze large numbers of cells. Although
flow cytometry is suitable for quantitative analysis of tens
of thousands of fluorescently labeled cells, the instruments
require a considerable amount of maintenance, highly trained
technicians, and the system is relatively expensive to both
purchase and maintain. In this work, we demonstrate the first
use of Cellometer Vision for the kinetic detection and analysis
of vitality, glycogen, neutral lipid, and trehalose content of
S. cerevisiae. This method provides an important research
tool for large and small breweries to study and monitor these
physiological behaviors during production, which can improve
fermentation conditions to produce consistent and higher
quality products.
Leo Chan currently serves as the technology R&D manager
and senior scientist at Nexcelom Bioscience LLC, Lawrence,
MA. His research involves the development of instruments and
applications for the Cellometer image cytometry system for
detection and analysis of yeasts used in the brewing and biofuel
industries. He is a member of MBAA. He received his B.S.,
M.S., and Ph.D. degrees in electrical and computer engineering
from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (2000–
2008).
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