Large-scale production of VHH antibody fragments by Saccharomyces cerevisiae

We report the large-scale production of VHH antibody fragments, raised against the azo-dye RR-6, by the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae. The secretion efficiency of the VHH fragments was correlated with their overall hydrophobicity. With a 15 m3 fed-batch fermentation, 1.3 kg VHHs were produced. Purification was done by removal of biomass and product concentration. During induction, the specific production rate qp was 0.213 g.[kg dryweight]−1.h−1.