Inflatable Biopharmaceutical Container with Rigid Inflated Wall
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current rigid containers for biopharmaceutical fluids are costly and time-consuming to clean, pose contamination risks, and have limited capacity and storage inefficiencies, while inflatable options lack stability and protection during transport.
Innovation Solution
A flexible, inflatable container with a multi-layered wall and internal pouch system that provides a sterile, leak-tight environment, capable of being inflated for transport and easily emptied, with integrated cooling/heating and aeration features, and designed for capacities between 100 and 1000 liters.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If rigid containers (stainless steel) are used for transporting biopharmaceutical fluids, then the fluids can be transported safely over great distances, but the containers require costly and lengthy washing and sterilization before reuse, and present contamination risks
Solution Approach 1:
The container is divided into an inner pouch that comes into direct contact with the biopharmaceutical fluid and an outer container structure. The inner pouch can be easily removed and replaced, eliminating the need for complex sterilization of the entire container system. This segmentation allows the fluid-contact surface to be independently replaced rather than cleaned.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention employs a disposable inner pouch made of flexible plastic material that is used once and then discarded. This eliminates the need for repeated sterilization of fluid-contact surfaces, as each new pouch provides a fresh, sterile barrier. The outer container can be reused without sterilization since it never contacts the fluid directly.
2Productivity
If rigid plastic containers are used, then they can be washed and reused, but they cannot have great capacity greater than 500 litres due to resistance problems, and cannot be combined with cooling and heating systems
Solution Approach 1:
The container utilizes a flexible plastic pouch instead of rigid plastic construction. This flexible membrane can be manufactured in much larger sizes without suffering from the resistance and structural integrity problems that limit rigid plastic containers to 500 litres. The flexibility allows for larger surface area to volume ratios, enabling integration of cooling and heating systems throughout the fluid contact surface.
3Volume of stationary object
If inflatable structures with flexible coating are used, then they can be folded and stored compactly, but the flexible coating is not rigid enough to effectively protect the content and ensure stability during transport
Solution Approach 1:
The container employs an inflatable structure where air or gas pressure is used to create rigidity in the flexible plastic walls. When inflated, the internal pressure gives the flexible material sufficient structural strength to protect the biopharmaceutical fluid and maintain stability during transport, while allowing the container to be deflated and folded for compact storage when not in use.
Data Source
Figure 1A~1B
Figure 2~3
Figure 4~5
AI summary
A container (1) for transporting a biopharmaceutical fluid (2), the container (1) comprising a leak-tight wall (3) having an outer portion (29) and an inner portion (30), the outer portion (29) and the inner portion (30) delimiting between them an intermediate space (14) that may be inflated under pressure with an inflation gas (G), the container (1) being adapted to be alternately in: - a non-inflated state in which the container (1) is empty of pressurized inflation gas (G), - an inflated state in which the wall (3) of the container (1) is inflated and delimits an internal cavity (4) adapted to contain the biopharmaceutical fluid (2), the wall (3) comprising a peripheral lateral wall (3c) around the internal cavity (4), the peripheral lateral wall (3c) being completely rigid or semi-rigid when the container (1) is in the inflated state so as to ensure a protection of the biopharmaceutical fluid (2).