Author Archives: Tony Allman

Getting started with cell culture can seem like an overwhelming step: cells are sensitive to shear stress, have a high risk of contamination and are very demanding concerning the right choice of process parameters. Check our blog post for all you need to start shaking or running your bioreactor with mammalian cells, insect cells and plant cells.

What is one of the worst things that could go wrong in your laboratory? Ask anyone working to a deadline in a bioprocess laboratory and a likely answer would be contamination of their cultures. Contamination can be hard to trace back to a source and difficult to remove if it is present in your working environment. Fortunately, there are a few simple steps you can follow to minimise the chances of this happening to you.

Continuous culture is best explained by discussing the basic components of the process. The theory is well known and simple to understand: Medium is both added and removed throughout much of the fermentation in order to keep cell numbers in balance. Actual execution can be difficult for starters, as there are more pumps, tubes and considerations than a simple batch fermentation.

Providing a single software solution to suit the full range and diversity of all biological cultivations would be an impossible task. A universal solution would be over-specified and expensive for most users, whilst similarly, a basic solution may not provide enough capabilities to suit all needs. This overview explores different user requirements and their best choice of bioprocess software.

The move from bench-scale bioreactors to larger units is a major step. As the level of technology increases, handling must take account of the larger scale and new protocols are applied for safe use. These implications have a bearing on what type of system is specified. Therefore, this post is focusing on giving a brief outline of what and why to consider when making a buying decision.

Cleaning an incubator shaker sounds trivial but is critical for successful cultivation. The good news is that doing the right thing is simple, effective and can easily be integrated into the routine management of a biosciences laboratory.