Parallel fermentation tank

Parallel bioreactor

The biological parallel reactor is equipped with advanced biological process control and automated operation, suitable for the research and process development of cell culture and microbiology. The characteristics of parallel process control, precise control of all relevant parameters, user-defined schemes, and numerous automation control programs make process development faster and more efficient; Such as research on microorganisms, photosynthetic bacteria, mammals, human cells, stem cell applications, as well as biofuel and biopolymer processes.

What is a parallel bioreactor? Simply put, it is essentially the combination of multiple reactors, but it achieves the synchronization of all operating conditions such as parameter settings, synchronous start, synchronous stop, synchronous calibration of sensors, and synchronous sterilization of culture media for multiple bioreactors (fermentation tanks), ensuring high consistency of various parameters and reproducibility of results. Why is it a parallel bioreactor? One of the main characteristics of synthetic biology is high-throughput, which requires a high degree of parallelism and consistency between samples to ensure comparability and reliability of results. However, traditional multi fermentation tanks only connect multiple fermentation tanks together, and the parameter settings, start, stop, calibration, and sterilization of the culture medium for each fermentation tank are still operated separately. These operations between tanks lack synchronization and consistency of conditions, resulting in significant errors in the results. Therefore, for high-throughput fermentation processes, only parallel bioreactors can meet the requirements of high-throughput sample processingConsistency of items.

Parallelism - combination of software and hardware

Parallelism is a comprehensive indicator for measuring the performance of parallel bioreactors. Its hardware foundation is the stability and consistency of executing components such as pumps and valves, as well as detection components such as instruments and transmitters, and the robustness of the control system. The core functions of parallel bioreactors are experimental design (DoE) and high-throughput screening, which generate a large amount of data during use. Therefore, parallel bioreactors must be equipped with a powerful data management system. At the same time, operating parallel bioreactors requires a large amount of work and is prone to errors. The software accompanying parallel bioreactors must be highly automated and intelligent. The combination of software and hardware is the soul of parallel bioreactors and the fundamental difference between parallel bioreactors and multiple independent reactors.

The difference between "parallel bioreactor" and "multi reactor"

Larger laboratories or fermentation factories have more than one reactor equipment. Is using all these reactors for the same experiment, or even for experimental design, equivalent to parallel bioreactors? Obviously not. Even if multiple bioreactors from the same manufacturer are put together, with the same operating conditions, raw materials, and bacterial strains, the results will always be different. Some devices may consistently be above average, while others may be below average. So it can be clearly said that a "mob" of multiple reactors together cannot be called a parallel bioreactor. Or at least it does not meet our definition of a parallel bioreactor, nor is it capable of meeting the quantitative analysis needs of the most important applications of parallel bioreactors such as DOE,

The key determinants of parallelism in parallel bioreactors are:

On the surface, it may seem like the same equipment and operation, but why do the actual effects vary greatly? In fact, it is impossible to achieve the same equipment and operation. There are always errors in the size and installation of the stirring blade, limited accuracy of the instrument, and losses in analog transmission. These subtle errors may not seem to have much to do with each other, but for microorganisms, especially E. Coli, which can divide once in 20 minutes, the impact of subtle differences between equipment and operation on the bacterial cells is exponentially amplified from one generation to the next. Even in an ideal scenario, assuming all hardware is the same, the motion and disturbance of the fluid are random, and the action of the closed-loop controller is therefore random. Large fermentation tank equipment may require a mixing time of several tens of minutes or even longer, and macroscopic operating conditions and local measurement parameters cannot represent the observed environment that the bacterial cells can feel. From a statistical perspective, many bacteria have reproduced for one or even several generations without experiencing real operating conditions. As the saying goes, the loss of the truth can lead to a thousand miles of error. In every fermentation tank, the butterfly effect is verified day after day. Therefore, the pursuit of parallelism in parallel bioreactors has no endpoint, and building a true parallel bioreactor is not an overnight process. A profound understanding of the overall and all component working principles of the equipment is required, such as separating strong and weak electricity to ensure that sensor signals such as electrodes are not interfered with; The control of the same parameter between tanks comes from the same module, which makes the control more accurate and the difference less; The number of tanks can be freely increased or decreased in groups. Compared to multiple connected tanks or multiple independent tanks, the parameter curves of multiple tanks in a parallel bioreactor have better consistency, parallelism, and repeatability; Under the same parameter control, the parameter curves of different tanks overlap in height.

Technical features:

1. It can control 2~48 tanks in parallel, and the number of tanks can be increased arbitrarily. It can be added in a modular manner with building blocks, without the need for complex connections. It can be controlled by inserting a network cable directly.

2. The tank capacity is flexible and optional, with 250ml/500ml/1000ml available for any combination, interchangeable, and universal base.

3. Modular design of the controller, which can be flexibly configured according to different experimental needs

4. Each tank can independently control temperature, mixing pH、DO、 Feeding, defoaming, ventilation (including custom cascade control)

5. Adjustable peristaltic pump for precise control of feeding amount, achieving batch, flow addition, continuous and perfusion cultivation

6. Expandable functional modules including cell density, exhaust gas analysis, glucose online detection, and feeding weighing

7. MC bio biological process big data analysis software provides advanced process control and data analysis, supporting DOE experimental design

Application:

• Microbial fermentation (bacteria, yeast, fungi)

• Suspension cell culture (mammals, plants, insects)

• Using microcarriers for adherent cell culture

• Optimization of culture medium, clone screening

• Small scale protein expression, antibody expression

• Process development and process optimization

Technical Specifications: