The stand-alone and integrated microbioreactors for microbial cultivation provided by our company are indispensable tools that significantly expedite the screening process for microbial strains/clones, various cultivation media formulations, and bioprocessing conditions. By seamlessly integrating microbioreactors with liquid handling systems, users can additionally conduct online cultivation experiments and formulate media compositions with ease. Our distinctive automated screening platform for microbial cultures empowers users to design and execute sophisticated experiments that align with biological signals, thereby enhancing experiment reproducibility. This innovative system allows for individually triggered actions such as sampling, dosing (e.g., adding inducers or feed solutions), and inoculation of culture wells in a microtiter plate. These actions are executed in response to real-time signals from the microbioreactor, including biomass, pH value, DO concentration, and experiment time, all without interrupting the shaking of the microtiter plate within the microbioreactor instrument, thereby not negatively affecting the cultivation conditions.

Utilizing a standard ANSI/SLAS (SBS) microtiter plate (MTP) format, our microbioreactor systems operate with online, pre-calibrated optical sensors. The inclusion of disposable 48-well MTPs enables the real-time measurement of cultivation parameters, while patented microfluidic technology facilitates concurrent pH control and feeding processes per single cultivation well. This comprehensive and versatile microbioreactor system offers a powerful tool for advancing microbial experimentation and process optimization.

Features

Essential features

• Our microbioreactors for microbial strain and cultivation media screening provide a range of cultivation modes, including fed-batch (linear, exponential, constant or DO triggered) and pH control. This flexibility allows researchers to tailor their experimental conditions to specific microbial strains and optimize the cultivation process based on varying requirements.
• The bioreactor systems are designed for a real-time monitoring and control of crucial bioprocess parameters. Signals such as pH, DO (using optodes), biomass concentration and fluorescent molecules (e.g., GFP, YFP, DsRed), are measured continuously.
• These high-throughput microbioreactors can be used for Design of Experiments (DoE) approaches, allowing researchers to conduct a multitude of experiments efficiently. This enables detailed process understanding within a short timeframe. Researchers can systematically vary parameters across up to 48 parallel cultivations, facilitating the exploration of a wide range of conditions and their impact on the microbial processes. The microbioreactor’s high-throughput enhances the efficiency of experimental design and optimization, making microbioreactors a valuable tool for accelerating research and bioprocess development.
• Both the automated and the stand-alone microbioreactor systems offer an optional microfluidic module, unlocking its full potential by seamlessly complementing the online monitoring function. This module provides precise, well-specific pH regulation and feeding capabilities, allowing for enhanced control over cultivation conditions. To that end, it facilitates the utilization of two reservoir wells per four cultivation wells, optimizing the allocation of resources. The inclusion of microvalves ensures the precise delivery of liquids at the nanoliter scale, offering a level of control that is crucial for fine-tuning experiments and achieving optimal results.
• Our high-throughput bioprocessing systems introduce an innovative gassing lid, enabling fed-batch experiments even under anaerobic conditions. With precise control of O₂ (0% - 100%) and CO₂ (0% - 12%), it minimizes gas consumption to a few mL/minute. Optional humidification reduces evaporation, enhancing experimental control.

Applications

Applications of Microbioreactors

• High-throughput fermentation platforms find crucial applications in the development of fed-batch processes for various biotechnological applications in the microbial regime, including food & beverage, enzyme and protein production, and biofuel research. These reactors enable researchers to optimize feeding strategies, monitor microbial growth parameters, and enhance the production efficiency of the bioprocess.
• Microbioreactors play a pivotal role in pH profiling and optimization studies, allowing researchers to systematically vary pH conditions and assess their impact on microbial cultures. This application is vital in understanding and fine-tuning the pH requirements for different bioprocesses, contributing to improved yields in many biotechnological applications.
• High-throughput bioprocess reactors are instrumental in screening and optimizing culture media for various applications, including food & beverage, enzyme and protein production or biofuel research. By efficiently testing different media formulations, researchers can identify the most favorable conditions for microbial growth, leading to enhanced productivity and quality in the production of platform and fine chemical compounds, and other bioproducts.
• Microbioreactors streamline and optimize the microbial cell line development process by automating critical stages, such as expansion, screening, and clone selection, enhancing throughput and ensuring reliability in the production of clones crucial for biologics research and therapy development.

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