Sartorius Stedim Biotech online biomass measurement for microbial applications

Sartorius Stedim Biotech is introducing integrated online biomass measurement to its ambr 15 fermentation and ambr 250 high-throughput systems for microbial applications.

The systems already operate up to 24 single-use stirred bioreactor cultures in parallel, fast-tracking microbial screening studies and shortening process development timelines. With the integration of online biomass measurement, SSB has addressed the bottleneck associated with offline sampling. The online biomass capability features non-invasive reflectance measurement, saving time, effort and sample volume. It enables scientists to quickly obtain detailed process understanding and control over their microbial cultures.

Online biomass measurement provides real-time non-invasive, continuous growth monitoring of 24 microbial cultures running in parallel. The reflectance-based technology means that sampling is not required. Instead, it uses lasers to transmit light through the base of each bioreactor and microprocessors to translate this into a reflectance measurement.

With a wide dynamic measurement range, and bubble correction factors to take into account gas bubble density, online measurements can be achieved even in high-aeration and high-agitation environments. Through a user calibration process, online reflectance can be displayed as online optical density (OD), wet cell weight (WCW) or dry cell weight (DCW).