Fermentor – Bioreactor
DESCRIPTION
ONE INSTRUMENT FOR:
– High density microbial fermentation (Bacteria, Yeast, Fungi)
– Batch/Fed-batch/Perfusion/Continuous cultures
– Aerobic / anaerobic fermentation
– Protein / Vaccine / Monoclonal antibody production
– Animal / Mammalian / Insect cell culture
– Controlled Stem cell culture
– Tissue Engineering
– Algal / Plant cell culture
– Universities / Life sciences & technical Schools
| Technical specification
Power |
Universal power supply for mains 100-245 V AC/50-60Hz, 560W, CE conform |
| Display | LCD 4 x 40 digits with backlight illumination |
| Dimensions | 22 x 40 x 38 cm (W x D x H) |
| Fermentor vessel | Pyrex borosilicate glass with 6 to 8 threaded necks; 0.3, 0.4, 1, 3, 7 liter vessels |
| Temperature control | High efficiency 150 W infrared (IR) radiation heat source with gilded parabolic reflector |
| Regulation | From 5°C over RT to 70°C |
| Measurement | From 0 to 99.9°C in 0.1°C steps |
| Precision | +/- 0.2°C (0 to 60°C) |
| Sensor | Pt 100 incorporated in the glass electrode of the pH probe |
| pH control | Sterilizable pH electrode pH 0-14 with automatic temperature correction, two-point semi-automatic calibration and Variopin connector |
| Resolution | 0.01 pH unit |
| Precision | +/- 0.02 pH unit |
| pO2 control | Sterilizable Clark type oxygen sensor with fast response, automatic temperature correction, two-point semiautomatic calibration, dissolved oxygen (DO) control through regulation of the airflow rate |
| Range | 0 to 25 mg oxygen/ l, in 0.1 mg/l steps |
| Air flow | 0 to 5 l/min in 0.01 l/min steps, measured by precise mass flow meter, linearity +/- 3%, reproducibility +/- 0.5% |
| Control | Proportional valve controlled by microprocessor |
| Supplied air pressure | 0.05 – 0.2 MPa (0.5 – 2 atm) |
| Agitation | 50 W Vibromixer 0 to 20 Hz (0 to 1200 rpm) in 0.1 Hz steps (6 rpm) with 1 or more stirring discs; Sterility similar to magnetic coupling |
| Selectable parameter | An additional parameter can be controlled by the instrument (foaming control, weight (for continuous cultures), pCO2, redox potential, conductivity, optical density, etc.); with standard 0-10V or 0-20mA output |
| Ports | One large quadruple sampling or additions port with four needles with LAMBDA PEEK double-seal connections, used for sampling, inoculation, antifoam, feeds, harvest, addition of correction solutions etc., additional double ports are available |
| Pumps | Up to 4 independent pumps (PRECIFLOW, MULTIFLOW, HIFLOW or MAXIFLOW) with speed variation from 0 to 100 % can be used with MINIFOR laboratory fermenter-bioreactor |
| Gas flow control | In addition to pumps, several electronic flow controllers with flow rate ranges of 0-5 l/min (MASSFLOW 5000) or 0-500 ml/min (MASSFLOW 500) can be used for the controlled addition of gases (e.g. N2, O2, air, CO2) in cell cultures; freely configurable gas station module |
| Working temperature | 0 – 40 °C |
| Working humidity | 0 – 90 % RH, not condensing |
| Security | IEC 1010/1 |
| Weight | 7.5 kg |
| PC control | Complete PC control and data processing using the fermentation software FNet (for up to 6 MINIFOR fermenters) or SIAM (for an even higher number of instruments) |
Through innovation to quality lab scale fermenter/fermentor and bench-top bioreactor at half-cost. New concepts in laboratory fermentation and cell cultures:
MINIFOR laboratory fermentor and bioreactor
The LAMBDA MINIFOR bench-top autoclavable laboratory fermenter and bioreactor was developed as a result of the need to construct a small laboratory fermentor for volumes from 35 ml to over 6 liters.
Based on long personal practical experience of fermentations, a fermentor-bioreactor which is easy to use and with the capacity to measure and control all the important parameters of the biological culture, has been created. This required new ideas and many innovations.
Smallest footprint for parallel experiments
The fermentor had to take up minimum space on the bench but with good access to all parts. Several fermentors should when placed side by side be suitable for the optimization of the parameters of growth of culture or optimization of bio-transformations etc. (highly suitable for parallel running experiments).
The space requirement of the MINIFOR fermentor-bioreactor with working vessel and the control unit is: 22 cm x 38 cm x 40 cm (W x H x D).
Bioreactor operation, remote control and data acquisition
LAMBDA MINIFOR fermentor and bioreactor can be fully controlled and operated from the front panel. All parameters can be immediately seen without scrolling and set values as well as high and low alarms of each parameter can be adjusted on the front panel.
Several MINIFOR units can be connected to one PC and the optional fermentation software SIAM or FNet, allows remote control and data processing. For connecting multiple MINIFOR fermenter-bioreactor units to the PC, no additional software licenses needed.
Innovations in MINIFOR fermentor-bioreactor for excellent price to performance ratio
To keep the cost of the MINIFOR fermentor-bioreactor low, without compromising quality, several new ideas and innovations have been introduced:
- Instead of a fermentor flask with a stainless steel head plates, which is expensive, we use whole autoclavable glass vessels (0.3 L, 0.4 L, 1 L, 3 L and 7 L) with threaded fittings. They have been used for many years in cell culture and are proved to maintain perfect sterility. Thanks to this concept, the MINIFOR fermenter-bioreactor is set up in shortest possible time.
- Instead of a traditional propeller agitator, which requires an expensive motor and magnetic coupling, we have introduced a new up-and-down agitation. A motor together with an inexpensive membrane perfectly assure sterility and produce an efficient mixing without formation of a vortex (no baffles needed). At the same time this type of mixing is gentler on cells and produces less foam. Novel biomimicking “fish-tail” stirring discs offer maximum mixing efficiency without cutting edges.
- The culture is heated by heat radiation produced in a parabolic radiator with a gold reflector placed under the fermentation vessel. The heat is absorbed gently in the culture similarly to the sun heating water. There is no overheating of the culture at any volume and expensive double-wall vessels with thermostatic baths are eliminated. At the same time tubing and cables disappear making the fermentor less complex.
- As far as possible expensive pieces of equipment have been replaced by new high performance plastics.
- By using modern microprocessors it has been possible to place all the electronics in the front part of the instrument. This makes the fermentor unbelievably compact and eliminates the casing tower. Despite its small size six parameters are measured and controlled in the basic configuration of the MINIFOR.