Daniel Bracewell
Reader in Biochemical Engineering
MSc Admissions Tutor
Phone: +44 (0)20 7679 2374
Fax: +44 (0)20 7209 0703
d.bracewell@ucl.ac.uk
Education
PhD Biochemical Engineering, University College London (1999)
MSc Biochemical Engineering, University College London (1995)
BSc Biotechnology, Imperial College London (1994)
Professional Appointments, Honours and Awards
Research Fellow, University College London (1998-1999)
TMR Fellowship, Norferm A/S, Odense, Denmark (2001-2002)
Senior Research Fellow, University College London (2002-2004)
Chair of the Royal Society of Chemistry Analytical Biosciences Group
Associate Member of the Institution of Chemical Engineers
Editorial Board Member for Microbial Cell Factories
Editorial Board Member for Bioanalysis
Research Interests
Daniel’s research is in the area of bioprocess analysis. The area is fundamentally linked to the speed and capabilities of the analytical techniques used. The rise of 'omics' (genomics, proteomics etc.) has lead to significant efforts in the area of analytical instrumentation to match these needs. This offers exciting possibilities to those engaged in the analysis of processes involving biological molecules at every scale. Daniel carried out pioneering studies into the use of biosensors to monitor and control the production of biopharmaceuticals. Bioprocess analysis does not only concern itself with instrumentation, it is also related to how experimentation is conducted and how the data is used. The desired outcome is methods that have applications as tools for future bioprocess development and control (see references for selected examples). To this end Daniel manages research activity as one of 5 principal investigators within the IMRC in Bioprocessing supported by leading national and multi-national companies. As part of this he supervises projects in collaboration GSK studying antibody degradation at solid liquid interfaces in the presence of shear, and manages a series of EngD projects on related subjects with Medimmune, Pfizer, Novasep and BIAseparations. These projects have in common the goal to understand the non-idealities which occur during processing. Typically this relates to contaminants or product related contaminants interfering with unit operations.
Daniel is also involved in several interdisciplinary / cross institution projects. He is joint supervisor of studies with the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory (RAL) to develop new adsorbent materials with Dr Bob Stevens based on nanofibres. He also works with Prof. Mark Smales at the University of Kent on understanding host cellprotein contaminants during mammalian cell culture of antibody products, the collaboration is funded Bioprocessing Research Industry Club (BRIC). Within UCL he and Dr Paul Dalby collaborate with Prof. Steve Perkins in Structural Biochemistry and Molecular Biology on the use of small angle x-ray microscopy to understand structural changes to therapeutic proteins during processing.
Funding for the above research has come from the UK EPSRC and BBSRC and a range of company collaborators.
Teaching and Training Activities
Current teaching activities span undergraduate and postgraduate degree programmes offered by the Department. He leads the course; Introduction to Biochemical Engineering, and teaches on Downstream Processing and Mass Transfer courses. He is also module leader of the post-experience MBI® training module in Chromatography, Bioprocess Design & Economic Evaluation and Bioprocess Facility Design. The department’s pilot plant studies and design project for Master’s students are also coordinated by Daniel.
The role of MSc admissions tutor has particular importance as it is a key entrance point into biochemical engineering for graduates in related fields. The position also involves allocation of the BBSRC Masters Training Grant which relates to the MSc and assisting Prof. Gary Lye in the administration of these research council funds.
Selected Publications
*If you would like further information on any of these publications or news of related research, please contact d.bracewell@ucl.ac.uk
Jin J., Chhatre S., Titchener-Hooker N. J. Bracewell D. G. (2010) Evaluation of the impact of lipid fouling during the chromatographic purification of virus-like particles from Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Journal of Chemical Technology & Biotechnology, 85, 209-215. doi:10.1002/jctb.2290
Balasundaram B., Harrison S.T.L., Bracewell D.G. (2009) Advances in product release strategies and impact on bioprocess design. Trends in Biotechnology, 27, 477-485. doi:10.1016/j.tibtech.2009.04.004
Balasundaram B., Nesbeth D., Ward J. M., Keshavarz-Moore E., Bracewell D.G. (2009) Step change in the efficiency of centrifugation through cell engineering: Co-expression of Staphylococcal nuclease to reduce the viscosity of the bioprocess feedstock. Biotechnology and Bioengineering, 104, 134-142. doi:10.1002/bit.22369
Balasundaram, B., Sachdeva, S., Bracewell, D. G. (2011). Dual salt precipitation for the recovery of a recombinant protein from Escherichia coli. Biotechnol Prog 27(5), 1306-1314 doi:10.1002/btpr.645.
Biddlecombe J.G, Smith G., Uddin S., Mulot S., Spencer D., Gee C., Fish B.C., Bracewell D.G. (2009) Factors influencing antibody stability at solid-liquid interfaces in a high shear environment. Biotechnology Progress, 25, 1499-1507. doi:10.1002/bit.22369
Shapiro M.S., Haswell S.J., Lye G. J., Bracewell D. G. (2009) Design and Characterization of a Microfluidic Packed Bed System for Protein Breakthrough and Dynamic Binding Capacity Determination. Biotechnology Progress, 25; 277-285. doi:10.1021/bp.99
Berrill, A., Ho, S.V., Bracewell, D.G. 2008. Ultra scale-down to define and improve the relationship between flocculation and disc-stack centrifugation. Biotechnology Progress, 24, 426 -431. doi 10.1021/bp070305i
Berrill, A., Ho, S. V., Bracewell, D. G. (2011). Mass spectrometry to describe product and contaminant adsorption properties for bioprocess development. Biotechnol Bioeng 108(8), 1862-1871. doi:10.1002/bit.23115
Berrill, A., Ho, S. V., Bracewell, D. G. (2010). Product and Contaminant Measurement in Bioprocess Development by SELDI-MS. Biotechnol Progr 26(3), 881-887. doi:10.1002/btpr.376
Bracewell, D. G., Boychyn, M., Baldascini, H., Storey, S.A., Bulmer, M.,More, J., Hoare, M. 2008. Impact of clarification strategy on chromatographic separations: pre-processing of cell homogenates. Biotechnology and Bioengineering, 100, 941-949. doi: 10.1002/bit.21823
Chan, S., Titchener-Hooker,N., Bracewell, D.G., Sørensen, E. 2008. A systematic approach for modelling chromatographic processes - application to protein purification. AIChE Journal, 54, 965 -977. doi: 10.1002/aic.11441
Gerontas, S., Asplund, M., Hjorth, R., Bracewell, D. G. (2010). Integration of scale-down experimentation and general rate modelling to predict manufacturing scale chromatographic separations. J Chromatogr A 1217(44), 6917-6926 doi:10.1016/j.chroma.2010.08.063
Hardick, O., Stevens, B., Bracewell, D. G. (2011). Nanofibre fabrication in a temperature and humidity controlled environment for improved fibre consistency. J Mater Sci 46(11), 3890-3898. doi:10.1007/s10853-011-5310-5
Moore, J. D., Perez-Pardo, M. A., Popplewell, J. F., Spencer, S. J., Ray, S., Swann, M. J., Shard, A. G., Jones, W., Hills, A., Bracewell, D. G. (2011). Chemical and biological characterisation of a sensor surface for bioprocess monitoring. Biosens Bioelectron 26(6), 2940-2947 doi:10.1016/j.bios.2010.11.043
Perez-Pardo, M. A., Ali, S., Balasundaram, B., Mannall, G. J., Baganz, F., Bracewell, D. G. (2011). Assessment of the manufacturability of Escherichia coli high cell density fermentations. Biotechnol Prog 27(5), 1488-1496 doi:10.1002/btpr.644
Shapiro, M. S., Haswell, S. J., Lye, G. J., Bracewell, D. G. (2011). Microfluidic Chromatography for Early Stage Evaluation of Biopharmaceutical Binding and Separation Conditions. Sep Sci Technol 46(2), 185-194 doi:10.1080/01496395.2010.511641
Wenger, M.D., DePhillips, P., Bracewell, D. G. 2008. A Microscale Yeast Cell Disruption Technique for Integrated Process Development Strategies. Biotechnol. Prog, 24, 606-614. doi:10.1021/bp070359s
Biddlecombe, J.G., Craig, A.V., Zhang, H., Uddin, S., Mulot, S., Fish, B.C., Bracewell, D.G. 2007. Determining antibody stability: Creation of solid-liquid interfacial effects within a high shear environment. Biotechnol. Prog.,23, 1218-1222. doi: 10.1021/bp0701261
Wenger, M.D., DePhillips, P., Price, C.E., Bracewell, D.G. 2007. An automated microscale chomatographic purification of virus-like particles as a strategy for process development. Biotechnology and Applied Biochemistry,47, 131-139. doi: 10.1042/BA20060240
Bracewell, D.G., Brown, R.A., Hoare, M. 2004. Addressing a whole bioprocess in real-time using an optical biosensor - formation and purification of antibody fragments from a recombinant E. coli host. Bioproc. Biosys. Eng. 26, 271-282. doi: 10.1007/s00449-004-0359-z
Bracewell, D.G., Brown, R.A., Gill, A., Hoare, M. 2001. Monitoring and Control of bioproducts from Conception to Production in Real-time using an Optical Biosensor. Eng. Life Sciences, 1, 25-31. doi:10.1002/1618-2863(200107)1:1,25::AID-ELSC25.3.0.CO;2-#
Bracewell, D. G., Gill, A., Hoare, M., Lowe, P. A., Maule, C. H. 1998. An optical biosensor for real-time chromatography monitoring: Breakthrough determination. Biosensors & Bioelectronics,13, 847-853. doi:10.1016/S0956-5663(98)00051-7
Gill, A., Bracewell, D. G., Maule, C. H., Lowe, P. A., Hoare, M. 1998. Bioprocess monitoring: An optical biosensor for real-time bioproduct analysis. J. Biotechnol., 65, 69-80. doi: 10.1016/S0168-1656(98)00123-0
Return to view the full staff list...
Page last modified on 17 oct 12 13:48
