Gassing Lid Assembly for Microbioreactor Sealing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current microbioreactor systems face challenges in real-time monitoring and control of process parameters during microorganism cultivation, particularly in maintaining anaerobic conditions and optimizing nutrient supply, which affects the yield of bioactive substances like proteins and vitamins.
Innovation Solution
A container assembly with a gassing lid that provides a gas-tight seal and guided access for pipette tips, allowing for anaerobic or microaerophilic cultivation, pH control, and controlled gas exchange, even in aerobic environments, using a lid assembly with resilient layers and guide elements that enable precise manipulation of gas concentrations and nutrient feeding.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a gassing lid is used to provide gas-tight sealing, then anaerobic conditions are maintained and safety risks are reduced, but device complexity increases due to multiple resilient layers and guide elements
Solution Approach 1:
The gassing lid is divided into multiple functional layers: a first resilient layer for sealing, a second resilient layer with apertures for gas exchange, and guide elements for pipette tip insertion. Each layer performs a specific function, allowing the complex sealing and gas control requirements to be met through modular design rather than a single complex component.
Solution Approach 2:
The lid assembly employs nested resilient layers where the second resilient layer with apertures is positioned within or alongside the first resilient layer. This nesting allows multiple functions (sealing and controlled gas exchange) to be integrated in a compact structure, reducing overall complexity while maintaining reliability.
2Object-affected harmful factors
If headspace volume is reduced to lower oxygen concentration safety risks, then safety is improved, but device complexity increases due to the need for precise sealing mechanisms
Solution Approach 1:
The lid uses flexible resilient layers that can deform to create tight seals around the reduced headspace volume. The elasticity of these layers allows them to conform to the container walls and maintain sealing pressure without requiring complex mechanical sealing components, thus reducing safety risks while managing complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The resilient layers act as intermediary elements between the rigid lid housing and the container, providing the necessary sealing function. These flexible intermediaries absorb dimensional variations and maintain gas-tight seals in the reduced headspace without requiring precision-engineered rigid sealing surfaces.
3Ease of operation
If guide elements are added to enable pipette tip insertion during agitation, then ease of operation is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The guide elements serve multiple functions: they guide pipette tips for insertion during agitation, maintain the sealing integrity of the resilient layers, and provide structural support for the lid assembly. By making these components multi-functional, the increase in device complexity is justified by the multiple benefits provided.
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of making the lid removable for pipette insertion, the guide elements are integrated into the lid structure itself, allowing pipette tips to pass through while the lid remains in place. This inverted approach maintains the gas-tight seal during operation while enabling easy access for sampling and feeding.
4Manufacturing precision
If multiple resilient layers with apertures are used for gas exchange, then gas control precision is improved, but manufacturing complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The gas exchange control is segmented into multiple layers, each with specifically positioned apertures. The first resilient layer has apertures for one function while the second resilient layer has apertures for another function, allowing precise control of gas exchange pathways. This segmentation enables manufacturing using standard techniques for each layer independently.
Solution Approach 2:
The resilient layers are designed with varying aperture sizes, shapes, and distributions to control different gas exchange parameters. By changing the physical parameters of the apertures in each layer rather than using a single complex structure, precise gas control is achieved through simpler manufacturing processes.
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 solution enables high-throughput, efficient cultivation of microorganisms by maintaining precise control over anaerobic conditions, optimizing biomass growth, and maximizing the yield of bioactive substances, while reducing safety risks associated with high gas concentrations.
Implementation Method 1
a first resilient layer and a second resilient layer with apertures configured to open when a pipette tip is inserted and close when the pipette tip is removed
Data Source
AI summary
A gassing lid assembly enables gas-tight sealing of sample containers in general, also referred to as microplates in some embodiments, with simultaneous guided access for the pipetting unit of a dispensing/pipetting robot, also referred to as a pipettor. The component enables both gas-tight sealing and guided access for the pipetting robot. The gassing lid serves a number of purposes at the same time and provides the following advantages in a non-limiting fashion: a gas tight seal, robot integration without a gassing lid, robot integration with a gassing lid, a sealing mechanism, and anaerobic transport. Reducing the volume above reservoirs of a sample container (e.g., the volume above wells of a microplate) is advantageous in that it reduces the safety risk of high concentrations of gases such as oxygen.