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Marroquín-Fandiño JE, Ramírez-Acosta CM, Luna-Wandurraga HJ, Valderrama-Rincón JA, Cruz JC, Reyes LH, Valderrama-Rincon JD. Novel external-loop-airlift milliliter scale bioreactors for cell growth studies: Low cost design, CFD analysis and experimental characterization. J Biotechnol 2020; 324:71-82. [PMID: 32991936 DOI: 10.1016/j.jbiotec.2020.09.022] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/17/2020] [Revised: 09/11/2020] [Accepted: 09/23/2020] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
Many researchers have limited access to fully equipped laboratory-scale batch bioreactors and chemostats due to their relatively high cost. This becomes particularly prohibitive when multiple replicas of the same experiment are required, but not enough bioreactors are available to operate simultaneously. Additionally, experiments using shaken flasks are common but show significant limitations in terms of maintaining homogeneous conditions in liquid cultures or installing instrumentation for monitoring. Here, we proposed to tackle this significant hurdle by providing a route to make available the manufacture of low-cost, milliliter-scale bioreactors. This approach seems plausible for enabling proof-of-concept experiments before moving to a larger scale without significant investments. The conceptually designed systems were based on external-loop bioreactors due to their flexibility, simplicity, and ease of assembling and testing. Designs were initially evaluated in silico with the aid of COMSOL Multiphysics. The successfully evaluated systems were then constructed via additive manufacturing and assembled for hydrodynamics testing via tracer methods. This was enabled by a newly home-made optical absorbance sensor (OAS) for in-line and real-time measurements. Both the in silico and experimental results indicated close to ideal mixing conditions and low shear stress. Cell growth curves were prepared by culturing Escherichia coli and following its cell density in real-time. Our cell growth rate and maximum cell density were similar to those previously obtained in closely related systems. Therefore, the proposed bioreactors are an affordable alternative for batch and continuous cell growth studies rapidly and inexpensively.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Carlos Manuel Ramírez-Acosta
- Grupo de Diseño de Productos y Procesos (GDPP), Department of Chemical and Food Engineering, Universidad de los Andes, Bogotá, 110311, Colombia
| | | | | | - Juan C Cruz
- School of Chemical Engineering and Advanced Materials, The University of Adelaide, South Australia, 5005, Australia; Department of Biomedical Engineering, Universidad de los Andes, Bogotá, 110311, Colombia
| | - Luis H Reyes
- Grupo de Diseño de Productos y Procesos (GDPP), Department of Chemical and Food Engineering, Universidad de los Andes, Bogotá, 110311, Colombia
| | - Juan D Valderrama-Rincon
- Grupo GRESIA, Department of Environmental Engineering, Universidad Antonio Nariño, Bogotá, 110231, Colombia.
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