INFORS HT blog

Decisive bioprocess parameters such as biomass and product concentration or metabolite concentrations in the medium are often not directly measurable, requiring offline sampling which does not provide immediate results. Despite the development of new measuring systems and probes, not every parameter can always be measured directly online. This can be remedied by soft-sensors (sometimes also called software sensors), which calculate the desired parameter based on a model or a simple correlation of known measured values.

A bioreactor provides an ideal environment where cells can focus on what they are supposed to do: proliferate. Like lab workers, cells can only produce consistently good work if the conditions are right: it should not be too hot or too cold, and they have to have enough nutritous food and fresh air. In terms of a bioreactor, this means maintaining pH, temperature, ensuring sufficient gas supply and, depending on how the instrument has been configured, adding nutrients for successful maintenance of growth.

Bioprocess development usually starts with screening for the most promising clones or culture conditions. All subsequent steps via process characterization, optimization, and finally, production are building on these first insights. Therefore, it is vital that the data generated during screening is of top quality.

Supply of a substrate is a must for any bioprocess, even if it is just mineral salts, light and CO₂ for algae. Usually, it is in the form of a sugar, which is either provided just at the start of a process or added over time. The choice of which method to use will depend on the organism, application and final goal.

Optimizing of a bioprocess for protein production is more complex than for simple increase in biomass. Over-production of biomass and normal cell metabolism may limit the amount of cellular resources directed towards making the protein of interest. This short overview lists some of the key points to take into consideration for the best yield of proteins.

Bioreactor manufacturers and users make massive efforts to create a culture environment free from contamination. Despite all this work, sometimes things go wrong. This blog post will cover some of the key reasons for contamination getting in and how to deal with it quickly.