3D tissue culture and fermentation of poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyvalerate) from Burkholderia cepacia D1

This study characterizes the poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyvalerate) [P(3HB-co-3HV)] copolymer produced by Burkholderia cepacia D1 with valeric acid as the sole carbon source and applies P(3HB-co-3HV) scaffold in a three-dimensional (3D) tissue culture using mouse embryonic fibroblast cell lines (NIH 3T3). Polymer content reached 25–35 wt%, when the carbon source concentration was 15–20 g/L at cell weights of 1.5 and 4.5 g/L. The copolymer composition was around 80–90 mol% when the cell concentration in the culture was 1.5–4.5 g/L. The 3-hydroxyvalerate (3HV) fraction of the copolymer exceeded 90 mol%, increasing the concentration of the carbon source (20 g/L) under biosynthesis and a high cell concentration at a cell weight of 4.5 g/L. To assess the feasibility of this new scaffold, NIH 3T3 cells were seeded on P(3HB-co-5% and 12% 3HV) scaffolds in 24-well plates. The NIH 3T3 fibroblasts grew rapidly on these polymers and proliferated over incubation time. These experimental results demonstrate that this novel polymer, which has high cell compatibility, is a potential candidate for tissue engineering applications.