Microbioreactors for Bioprocess Development

Abstract

As a step toward high-throughput bioprocess development, we present design, fabrication, and characterization of polymer based microbioreactors integrated with automated sensors and actuators. The devices are realized, in increasing levels of complexity, in poly(dimethylsiloxane) and poly(methyl methacrylate) by micromachining and multilayer thermal compression bonding procedures. Online optical measurements for optical density, pH, and dissolved oxygen are integrated. Active mixing is made possible by a miniature magnetic stir bar. Plug-in-and-flow microfluidic connectors and fabricated polymer micro-optical lenses/connectors are integrated in the microbioreactors for fast set up and easy operation. Application examples demonstrate the feasibility of culturing microbial cells, specifically Escherichia coli, in 150 μL-volume bioreactors in batch, continuous, and fed-batch operations. (JALA 2007;12:143–51)

Fermentative Biohydrogen Modelling and Optimization Research in Light of Miniaturized Parallel Bioreactors

“…Zhang et al (85) reported a yield of biohydrogen of 57 ml·g -1 when cornstalk was treated with sodium hydroxide (0.5 % naoh); this value was 19-fold higher than the yield obtained from untreated materials (3 ml·g -1 ). Furthermore, the authors investigated the production of biohydrogen from cornstalk waste with mixed pretreatments of acid (0.2 % hcl) and heat, with a maximum yield of 150 ml·g -1 , or a 50 times increase as compared to the initial value, thus proving the efficiency of both acid and base pretreatment methods.…”

“…A microbioreactor must possess similar characteristics to a bench-scale bioreactor in terms of fermentation conditions, feedback control loops (18,23,31,46), product quality and yield. Recently, some of these reactors have been enhanced with the capability to monitor and control parameters such as optical density (oD), ph, temperature and dissolved oxygen (Do) online and in real time and thereby avoid the need for sample removal (85). the optical sensor technologies have been applied to these bioreactors for online monitoring.…”

“…the Sixfors benchtop device (infors AG, Bottmingen, Switzerland) has six fermenters operating in parallel (6) and the cellstation bioreactors (Fluorometrix corporation, Stow, MA) allow 12 miniature stirred-tank bioreactors to be operated in parallel. Parameters such as ph and temperature are controlled online in these bioreactor systems, whereas agitation is achieved through baffles and impellers (85). The miniaturization and parallelization of bioreactors for biohydrogen is an attractive approach for development of this process.…”

Lab on a chip automates in vitro cell culturing

“…Recent advances of automated cell culturing are combining microelectronics, micromechanics, micro-optics, communication technologies, microfluidics and assembly technology, which has lead to a number of miniaturized devices [1][2][3]. Many scientific publications can be found in which integrated complicated systems are studied, while in hospitals or in fertility clinics the procedures are still predominantly based on Petri dishes.…”

Gradiente De Concentração Em Dispositivo Microfluídico Para Otimização De Bioprocessos

“…Ainda, em tais ensaios há possíveis contaminações cruzadas e exigem de maior quantidade de energia devido ao tamanho dos equipamentos envolvidos (Kumar et al, 2004;Zhang et al, 2007;Au et al, 2011;Hegab et al, 2013). Assim, o desenvolvimento de bioprocessos pode ser otimizado com a utilização da microfluídica geradora de gradiente difusivo, podendo avaliar o crescimento celular frente a diferentes condições, realizar análises em tempo real por meio de sensores integrados, e obter resultados comparáveis aos processos convencionais, em um único dispositivo microfluídico (Hegab et al, 2013).Embora apresente um alto potencial investigativo, a microfluídica com geração de gradiente difusivo ainda é pouco explorada no campo da microbiologia industrial.…”