Two critical mistakes derail glycoengineering efforts. First, delaying analytical feedback on glycan profiles turns optimization into blind guesswork. Second, failing to test interactions with other process parameters like pH and temperature early on creates a process that is not robust and is prone to failure at scale.
The standard practice is to optimize for productivity (titer) first, then correct for quality (glycosylation) later. This is reactive and inefficient. Successful teams integrate glycan analysis into their very first screening experiments, making informed, real-time trade-offs between productivity and quality attributes.
A structured, three-stage validation protocol can test raffinose in just eight weeks. It progresses from a 96-well plate screen to spin tubes to benchtop bioreactors. Each stage has a clear go/no-go criterion, allowing teams to quickly determine viability for their process without over-investing resources.
Raffinose is not a universal solution for glycan engineering. Its ideal use case is for biosimilar matching when you need to specifically increase high mannose content from a low baseline of 1-3% up to a target of 5-8%. Outside this narrow window, it is ineffective or even detrimental and other strategies should be employed.