Flexible Bioreactor Sampling Ports for Center Fluid Access
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional tube ports in bioreactors are rigid and inflexible, leading to difficulties in sealing and potential damage to flexible containers, and sampling methods often provide misrepresentative fluid samples by withdrawing from the container perimeter rather than the center.
Innovation Solution
The development of flexible tube ports with a flange and elastomeric materials, allowing for secure attachment to flexible containers and enabling sampling ports with elongated flexible support and sampling tubes that can be sealed and folded without permanent deformation, facilitating improved sealing and sampling from the center of the container.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If rigid ports are used in flexible containers, then sealing and structural stability are improved, but the flexibility of the container is reduced and damage risk increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies this principle by using a flexible membrane that forms a seal around the rigid port structure. The membrane can deform to accommodate the rigid port while maintaining sealing, and the container can still be folded and collapsed without permanent damage. This resolves the contradiction by allowing rigid structural support where needed while preserving overall container flexibility.
2Stability of the object's composition
If rigid ports are used for structural support, then port stability is improved, but the risk of container damage during folding increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the port structure into rigid and flexible components. The rigid portion provides structural stability for probe insertion and sealing, while the flexible membrane portion allows the container to be folded and collapsed without damaging the rigid elements. This segmentation resolves the contradiction by distributing different functional requirements to different materials.
3Ease of operation
If sampling is performed at the container perimeter, then sampling simplicity is improved, but sample representativeness deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extends the sampling port longitudinally into the container interior, moving the sampling location from the perimeter (2D surface) to the central region (3D interior volume). This dimensional change allows the sampling probe to reach the homogeneous fluid in the container center while maintaining easy access through the port structure, resolving the contradiction between sampling simplicity and representativeness.
Data Source
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AI summary
A sampling port includes an elongated flexible support tube having an interior surface bounding a first passageway extending between a first end and an opposing second end, the first passageway being closed at the first end of the support tube and open at the second end of the support tube. An elongated flexible sampling tube has an interior surface bounding a second passageway extending between a first end and an opposing second end, the second passageway being open at the first end of the sampling tube, at least a portion of the sampling tube adjacently extending along the length of the support tube and being connected to the support tube. A flange encircles and radially outwardly projecting from the support tube and the sampling tube at a location spaced apart from the first end of the support tube and the first end of the sampling tube.