Microfermentors for rapid screening and analysis of biochemical processes
First Claim
1. A microscale bioreactor comprising:
- a vessel having an interior volume of less than 200 microliters; and
means for providing oxygen to the vessel at a concentration sufficient to support cell growth.
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Abstract
The present invention provides a variety of microscale bioreactors (microfermentors) and microscale bioreactor arrays for use in culturing cells. The microfermentors include a vessel for culturing cells and means for providing oxygen to the interior of the vessel at a concentration sufficient to support cell growth, e.g., growth of bacterial cells. Depending on the embodiment, the microfermentor vessel may have various interior volumes less than approximately 1 ml. The microfermentors may include an aeration membrane and optionally a variety of sensing devices. The invention further provides a chamber to contain the microfermentors and microfermentor arrays and to provide environmental control. Certain of the microfermentors include a second chamber that may be used, e.g., to provide oxygen, nutrients, pH control, etc., to the culture vessel and/or to remove metabolites, etc. Various methods of using the microfermentors, e.g., to select optimum cell strains or bioprocess parameters are provided.
138 Citations
78 Claims
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1. A microscale bioreactor comprising:
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a vessel having an interior volume of less than 200 microliters; and
means for providing oxygen to the vessel at a concentration sufficient to support cell growth. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67, 68, 69, 73, 74, 75, 76, 77, 78)
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59. A microscale bioreactor comprising:
at least one waveguide sensor. - View Dependent Claims (60, 61)
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70. A microscale bioreactor comprising
first vessel having an interior volume of 1 ml or less for culturing cells; - and
a second vessel separated from the first vessel at least in part by a membrane permeable to oxygen and carbon dioxide. - View Dependent Claims (71, 72)
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Specification