INFORS HT blog

Buying a new incubator shaker may seem like a simple job. You could select the same model again, the cheapest version, or the shaker with the fastest delivery time. Nothing to worry about as it’s a simple standard product, so anything will do the job. However, this approach leaves out a vital factor – what quality of results can you expect at the other end of your bioprocess? 

The shake flask is one of the standard laboratory tools for culture of microorganisms and cells. The bioreactor, conversely, is seen as a specialized, solution for commercial applications and academic departments such as chemical engineering. While there is a generic case to be made for this view, the realities of modern research in the biosciences have expanded the need for more information and semi-production capability at small scales.

The fed-batch technique is an important biotechnological process strategy. Unlike the simpler Batch strategy, the substrate for microbial growth is not administered all at once but added over time. This allows control over the culture growth and product formation, whilst avoiding reactor limitations. Despite these advantages, a fed-batch will require optimization, which can present its own challenges.

This article will look at the history and development of a de-facto standard in academic and industrial research laboratories throughput the world, the Multitron incubator shaker. The aim is to show that an initial revolution can lead to evolution, as needs change over time. The fundamentals of a good design can last decades, when new benefits and the best of current technologies are added regularly.

CHO (Chinese Hamster Ovary) cells are the most commonly used resource for complex recombinant proteins for therapeutic use. Their importance for bioprocessing is already significant and growing.  

Humidification systems are vital for sucessful small-volume and long-lasting cultivations in the incubator shaker (e.g. screening in microtiter plates or cell culture). The different systems available on the market have one primary focus: to reduce evaporation losses by increasing the humidity levels inside the incubation chamber. However, there are significant differences in terms of quality, humidity control and sterility. This blog post highlights the Pros and Cons of the 3 most commonly used humidification systems.