CONCLUSION
The need to increase the final product concentration in fermentation processes
leads us to develop this immobilized product fermentation (IPF). By directly adding a
separating agent such as XAD-4 resin that is nontoxic to the microbial cells into the
fermentation broth, the antibiotic synthesis rate has been shown to increase drastically
and the final product yield increases by a factor of 3 or more. The antibioticconcentrated
resins can easily be separated from the fermentation broth and the
antibiotic can be extracted using solvents. Volume reduction and partial purification
were being demonstrated in the case of cycloheximide fermentation. Currently, we are
looking into the possibility of extending this antibiotic synthesis and optimizing this
IPF process through computer control.