March 11, Share this page. Stirred-tank bioreactors are equipped with an impeller for homogenizing culture media and a sparger for delivering oxygen to the cells. Stirred-tank reactors STRs are the most widely-used bioreactors. These range in sizes from 15 mL to L for single-use and are available in sizes larger than L for stainless-steel.
STRs are primarily used to scale-up a process from research and development scale to manufacturing scale. The goal is to ensure that a process at a smaller volume can be representative of larger volumes. Biotechnology is becoming more and more important in drug development and production, as well as the multiplication of stem cells.
Both are used for medical treatment. Time to market, cost reduction and consistent product quality are very important in designing and producing pharmaceutically active ingredients.
Therefore, reliability of bioreactors and the possibility to scale-up the process from small to large sized bioreactors is very much desired. Other examples of biotechnological applications are biobased chemicals and plastics. Researchers are working on renewable plastics, which are made from organic materials with the help of enzymes and micro-organisms. There are already appealing examples of bio-based plastics such as toys, car parts and alternatives for PET bottles.
A specific example of bio-chemical production is using microalgae and sunlight for converting CO2. The transition to sustainable energy is another driver that boosts the use of bioreactors. Biogas and biofuel in the form of biomethane, bioethanol and biodiesel are gaining popularity in our home, industrial and transport energy supply.
The gas or fuel is created as a result of fermentation of organic material such as dung, sludge, organic waste, grass, corn, sugarcane. Datasheet Biotechnology and bioreactors: a very diverse technology.
Biotechnology and bioreactors: a very diverse technology May 5, Gunther Kolder and Dion Oudejans. What is Biotechnology? Check our recommended products. The bioreactor, core of the process Simply said, a bioreactor is a vessel in which biological processes take place. Schematic overview of bioreactor process.
Aeration of bioreactors using flow controllers The gases that are commonly used for the aeration of bioreactors are: Air, O2 Oxygen , N2 Nitrogen and CO2 Carbon dioxide. The figure shows the ideal growth curve of a bacterial culture in a bioreactor.
The history of bioreactors The research and first production of microbiologically generated substances in medicines started during the second world war, when they discovered the advantages of using penicillin to treat the wounded soldiers. Bioreactor applications Bioreactors come in many different sizes and shapes suitable for a wide variety of applications.
Drug development and production Biotechnology is becoming more and more important in drug development and production, as well as the multiplication of stem cells.
Biobased chemicals and plastics Other examples of biotechnological applications are biobased chemicals and plastics. Sustainable Energy The transition to sustainable energy is another driver that boosts the use of bioreactors. Would you like more information about bioreactors? Most bioreactors are therefore equipped with a system for combatting foam formation. Mechanical foam breakers in the headspace are reserved for rather large stainless steel bioreactors, while antifoam control systems based on chemical agents such as PPG, Struktol, or silicon-based defoamers can be found in smaller bioreactors.
A typical antifoam control system consists of a sensor installed at a specific height in the culture vessel. If the foam height reaches the sensor, an antifoam agent is pumped from a reservoir into the culture vessel. These antifoam agents are active at the liquid-gas interface and increase the tendency of the foam bubbles to collapse. Caution is advised when using an antifoam agent — if you dispense even slightly more than necessary, it can lie like a second skin on the surface of the liquid, which hinders the gas exchange.
Antifoam agents also counteract efficient oxygen transfer, because the change in surface tension promotes the collapse of gas bubbles in the bioreactor, thus reducing the surface area available for gas exchange. The selection of the appropriate agent also depends on the bioprocess in question, because bacteria and cells react differently to certain chemicals.
Nowadays, the results generated in a bioreactor should be collected and evaluated as centrally as possible, as this is the only way of effectively implementing modern, big data algorithms in order to generate more information and to better understand how a process works.
In the first step, all data from the bioreactor can be read out — with no major input on the part of the user — and stored centrally in order to evaluate it on its own or compare it with other batch data. This quickly triggers ideas for new experiments and possibly even complex batch strategies. A professional SCADA software lets you plan these easily and then control the bioreactor, which will ideally be a fully automated process.
These include tools for process optimization using the design-of-experiment DoE technique or powerful software sensors, which can be used simultaneously to compute additional information directly from the batch process parameters and even to regulate those parameters. For example, the respiratory quotient RQ can be used to obtain an estimate of metabolic activity by means of the ratio of excreted carbon dioxide to absorbed oxygen.
There are so many possibilities — especially when the bioreactor and SCADA software are perfectly matched — that we could not possibly describe them all. Hi Tony, Great intro article. Nice to see you emphasize quality gas control, often underestimated. Maybe write an article dedicated to gas control? Paul de Waal Product Manager Vogtlin. Hi Paul, Thanks for the kind words and encouragement.
I'm glad you liked the post and were able to focus on an important aspect out of this very basic introduction. I really like your idea of a specific post on the importance of effective gas strategies on bioprocesses as a stand-alone topic.
I have an outline in mind for this already. If you have any specific ideas for content you would like to see included, please don't hesitate to get in contact. Back to blog. Written by Tony Allman Sep The most important process parameters and the mechanisms for regulating them are covered below: Culture mixing Temperature control pH control Feeding nutrients Gassing Pressure control Preventing foam formation Culture mixing The culture in a bioreactor needs to be mixed thoroughly at all times.
The typical stirring speed varies amongst other things depending on the cultivated organism: Organism Mixing rate Bacteria, Yeast, Fungi — min —1 Mammalian, Insect or Plant cells 30 — min —1 Adjusting stirring speeds for cultivating either microorganisms, plant cells, animal cells or insect cells is very important, as these react differently to shear stress, i.
Measuring and controlling the temperature Microorganisms and cell cultures alike have enzymes that work best within certain temperature and pH ranges. The temperature is adjusted via an electric heater or steam and a solenoid valve for cooling water intake Measuring and controlling the pH Measuring and controlling pH is a very important aspect of bioprocesses, as changes in the pH can significantly alter growth conditions — usually with major consequences. Adding nutrients During a bioprocess, microorganisms usually consume a wide array of nutrients.
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