The Hidden Variable in Shake Flask Cultures Shake flasks are among the most commonly used vessels in microbial and cell culture research. They are inexpensive, readily available, and easy to handle — which is why they are found in virtually every bioprocess development laboratory. Despite their widespread use, one critical process variable is routinely left […]
Optimization of Glutamine Measurement in Cell Culture Operations Current “membrane-based” instrumentation utilized at a large cell culture manufacturing site has presented recurrent problems, including non-repeatable, inaccurate metabolite analysis, especially of Glutamine. These membrane / electrochemical technologies have shown inherent flaws in measurement stability and excessive maintenance at multiple sites. Newer optical-based metabolite analyzers were evaluated to determine […]
Introduction In the bioprocessing industry, bioreactor controllers are often used to tightly control many parameters within a bioreactor process run. The measurements that are controlled are called Critical Quality Attributes (CQAs) and include real-time pH, dissolved oxygen (DO), CO2, temperature, biomass and metabolites. Digital vs Analog Communication Protocols in Biotech Analyzers often have many different […]
From traditional bioreactors to SUBs (Single-Use Bioreactors) Traditionally, bioreactors have been constructed from glass or stainless steel, and were designed to be reusable. However, in between batches, these vessels had to be carefully cleaned and sterilized prior to the next process being introduced. This cleaning process is labor-intensive and time-consuming. To reduce the costs and […]