Bioreactors enable users to ensure optimal culture conditions by controlling all process parameters using a tablet PC as a user-friendly control interface
With its expertise in fermentation and automated systems, the Biolafitte division of Pierre Guerin is introducing the Tryton series, a new generation of autoclavable bioreactors.
Marketed as a stirred tank, Tryton bioreactors represent a state-of-the-art response to the evolution of biotech processes.
They are said to be perfectly suited to laboratory environments and current methods of process development, and conform to pharmaceutical industry standards.
The system consists of six interchangeable borosilicate glass vessels, with working volumes of 1.9, 4.9, and 7.6 litres, for microbial or cell cultures.
Agitation is performed by two Rushton turbines for microbial cultures or one HTPG4 impeller for cell cultures with mechanical or magnetic coupling.
Speeds are adjustable between 40-1500rpm (microbial) and 10-400rpm (cell).
Adjustable airflow via rotameter or mass flow comes through a gas inlet with 0.2um absolute filter, aeration tube (microbial) or stainless steel sparger 50um (cell). Tryton bioreactors enable users to ensure optimal culture conditions by controlling all process parameters including temperature, speed control, pH, po2, anti-foam, gas flow rates, weight or level and optical density.
The system's user-friendly digital display control unit is based on the proven LabWindows process control language from National Instruments and on a real time processor with a fast ethernet connection to the user interface.
This interface is provided by a tablet PC including touch screen, keyboard, and Windows XP Professional operating system.
The Tryton series' Neptune control software package for fermentation process optimisation allows the connection and supervision of up to 12 bioreactors via the ethernet.
This software provides a graphical representation of the system, updated in real time, which enables data logging and archiving with trends and graphs.
Data can be exported via standard file formats for use in reports and for further analysis.
Tryton bioreactors are said to be easy to clean and can be sterilised in autoclave.
The head plate and the vessel and flask supports are made of polished 316L stainless steel. Accessories include up to four fixed speed peristaltic pumps and two external variable speed peristaltic pumps for fed-batch and continuous culture applications, three inlets (0.5") for probes and sensors, a thermowell for temperature probe, an inoculation tube for sterile addition, a sample and harvest tube (sterile sampling system), three ports for optional mounting of reagent injection and gas outlet condenser, a septum port for sterile addition, and three reagent addition kits plus a holder for flasks, per fermenter.
