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Automated Bioprocess Development Facility
- © Glauche
Efficient screening processes need platforms that are able to run a high number of cultivations in parallel. The incubator is able to perform multiple cultivations at once. During fermentation, process parameters are monitored and controlled individually in each vessel. The combination of a stand-alone screening system with a liquid handling system are forcing researchers to apply automated protocols for controlling, sampling and analytics and are allowing process automation. Though, high-throughput applications are running independently and are generating a high density of data. These records can be used for further investigation and process optimization.
Our automated bioprocess development platform consists of two robot stations: A multi well plate system and a miniaturized stirred bioreactor system. Additionally, one robot station runs the analytical assays. Screening is performed in volumes as little as 200 µL per vessel in up to 96 vessels at the same time.
The Hamilton FAME® incubator is integrated into a Hamilton Microlab STAR®liquid-handler, which has an integrated plate reader from BioTek. A HEPA-hood provides a sterile environment. It is also equipped with a robotic arm (iSWAP®) for the transport of plates and lids, an eight-channel pipetting module and a 96-pipetting head.
The process development and the characterization of the final production process are performed in up to 48 stirred tank bioreactors with a working volume of 10 mL.
The bioREACTOR® 48 from 2mag AG is a miniaturized stirred tank bioreactor system. Remarkably, 48 disposable bioreactors can operate in parallel and online measurement of DOT and pH is implemented. Thereby, each vessel has a culture volume of 8-14 mL. The bioREACTOR® is implemented into a Tecan Freedom Evo platform to automate sampling and feeding.
Various analytical measurements (e.g. optical density, glucose and acetate content among others) can be analyzed by the robot. Moreover, a flow cytometer MACSQuant (Miltenyi Biotec, Germany) measures the cell´s physical and chemical characteristics.
Finally, the data are collected and managed by a user-friendly database system.