External Bioprocess Sensor via Permeable Barrier Membrane
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current non-invasive bioprocess sensors face challenges such as difficulty in manufacturing, calibration, and maintenance due to the need for direct contact with cell culture media, and lack of easy access for long-duration monitoring and replacement.
Innovation Solution
A system with a culture vessel featuring a permeable barrier membrane and recessed areas for sensor placement, allowing analytes to diffuse and interact with sensors externally, minimizing invasive contact and enabling easy calibration and replacement without compromising sterility.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If sensor patches are introduced into the vessel for non-invasive sensing, then bioprocess parameters can be monitored, but the system becomes difficult to manufacture and requires recalibration after sterilization
Solution Approach 1:
The sensor is extracted from the interior of the culture vessel and placed in an external housing. The sensing element detects analytes through the vessel wall without being inside the sterile environment, eliminating the need for post-sterilization recalibration and simplifying manufacturing procedures.
Solution Approach 2:
The vessel wall acts as an intermediary barrier that allows analyte diffusion from the culture medium to the external sensor. This intermediate structure enables sensing without direct sensor contact with the culture medium, avoiding contamination risks and manufacturing complexities.
2Reliability
If sensor patches are introduced into pre-sterilized vessels, then sterility is maintained, but it is cumbersome to position sensors and requires extensive validation
Solution Approach 1:
The sensor is pre-positioned in an external housing before vessel sterilization. The housing is designed with pre-formed openings or windows that align with the vessel wall, eliminating the need for post-sterilization positioning and reducing validation requirements.
Solution Approach 2:
The sensor is extracted from the sterile interior environment and placed externally, eliminating the need for complex positioning procedures and extensive validation while maintaining sterility through the vessel wall barrier.
3Measurement precision
If sensors are in direct contact with cell culture media, then accurate measurements are obtained, but calibration checking and sensor replacement become difficult for long duration experiments
Solution Approach 1:
The sensor is extracted from the culture medium and placed in an external housing. The sensing element contacts the medium only through the vessel wall, allowing easy removal and replacement of the entire sensor assembly without disrupting the culture, while maintaining measurement accuracy.
Solution Approach 2:
The sensor system is made dynamically replaceable through the external housing design. The sensor can be easily removed and replaced by accessing the external housing, enabling routine calibration checks and maintenance during long-duration experiments without compromising the culture.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This approach provides less invasive, more reliable, and maintainable bioprocess parameter sensing by allowing analytes to interact with sensors externally, reducing calibration and maintenance complexities while maintaining sterility.
Implementation Method 1
at least one portion of the culture vessel wall comprises a barrier membrane that is at least partially permeable to at least one predetermined analyte
Implementation Method 2
the sensor is adapted to chemically interact with the at least one predetermined analyte or to physically react to the at least one bioprocess parameter
Data Source
Figure 1~2A
Figure 2B
Figure 2C~2D
AI summary
A system and method for measuring at least one bioprocess parameter utilizes a barrier that separates an external sensor from a culture medium. The barrier allows analytes to diffuse in and out of the culture vessel, thereby allowing the bioprocess parameter to be measured non-invasively by the external sensor.