From the 29 to 31 March 2021 the 6^th BioProScale Symposium was held virtually for the first time. It was organized by the Chair of Bioprocess Engineering at Technische Universität Berlin, the Institute for Fermentation and Biotechnology in Berlin (IfGB) as part of the Versuchs- und Lehranstalt für Brauerei in Berlin (VLB e.V.) and Bio-PAT e.V.

The international symposium, first held in 2009, usually takes place every 2 years in Berlin. This tradition was interrupted by the Corona pandemic. Nevertheless, the participants accepted the new online format and coped well with it, said to the organizers, who expressed their thanks to all contributors, participants and sponsors. 224 participants from 19 countries had registered for the online event. 46 exciting lectures from industry and academia were held, 33 posters presented and 10 exhibitors showcased their products and services. The following topics were at the focus of this 6^th BioProScale symposium: industrial scale bioprocessing and scale down, process analytical technologies (PAT), bioprocesses for a circular economy, microfluidic systems, high-throughput bioprocessing and automation, and modelling bioprocesses.

Thanks to VLB Berlin, a virtual platform with an exhibition area, auditorium, a poster area, video chat area as well as private chat possibilities, was set up and kept available even some days before and after the event. A professional recording studio supported live sessions, including interactive live discussions. In the video chat area, provided by “wonder.me”, the participants met during the breaks and in the evening to talk about the lectures and posters, exchange information with exhibitors or come together for various discussions and chats in small groups. The virtual platform with the different possibilities for exchange and establishing contacts met with a constantly positive resonance.

The exhibitor Bio-PAT

The Bio-PAT network was one of the exhibitors, as were three of its members. Further members provided detailed information for download and video material at the Bio-PAT booth.

The integration of an external video-chatroom provided a platform for the network, its members and booth visitors to discuss topics separately.

Best lecture and poster awards

The organizers thanked MDPI for sponsoring the lecture awards and Eppendorf for the poster awards, which both honored young scientists for their superb work.

The 1^st prize for the best lecture was awarded to Björn Gutschmann (Chair of Bioprocess Engineering at TU Berlin) and Thomas Schiewe (Chair of Physical Chemistry at Universität Potsdam / innoFSPEC and PDW Analytics GmbH) for their presentation “In-line application of photon density wave spectroscopy as a PAT sensor in high cell-density bioprocesses: Monitoring of E. coli growth and PHA formation in R. eutropha”. Both university chairs and PDW Analytics GmbH are members of the Bio-PAT network, which was delighted about the award. The 2^nd place went to Sarah Täuber (Universität Bielefeld) for her presentation “Dynamic microfluidic single-cell cultivation: Growth of Corynebacterium glutamicum at fluctuating environmental conditions”. Phuong Ho (Forschungszentrum Jülich) received the 3^rd prize for his presentation “Reproducing dynamic environment in microfluidic single-cell cultivation based on computational lifeline analysis”. The lecture abstracts of all the winners can be read in the detailed report of the Bio-PAT e.V. about the symposium on the Bio-PAT website.

The first prize of the poster awards went to Amin Javidanbardan (Universidade de Lisboa) for his poster entitled “Rapid and cost-effective fabrication of micro chromatography integrated with microelectrode impedance sensor”, followed by Jian Li (ShanghaiTech University) with the poster “Total in vitro biosynthesis of the nonribosomal macrolactone peptide valinomycin” and Tobias Höing (Mosa Meat) with “Cultured meat production in a 2D rocking bioreactor”.

For updates on the next symposium, the organizers refer to the BioProScale Group on LinkedIn.