Single Bioreactor for Scalable Clean Meat Production
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current cell and tissue culture systems for producing clean meat are cumbersome, expensive, and not scalable for industrial use, lacking flexibility in culture protocols and requiring complex setups with multiple bioreactors and pumps.
Innovation Solution
A closed, continuous, or semi-continuous culture system utilizing a single bioreactor for cell growth and expansion, followed by tissue formation in separate reactors with optional cell-media separation, allowing for scalable and flexible production of clean meat products.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If multiple bioreactors and peristaltic pumps are used for cell culture, then cell growth can be maintained, but device complexity and capital expenditure increase
Solution Approach 1:
A single bioreactor is designed to perform multiple functions sequentially: first as a cell growth reactor, then as a media supply vessel, and finally the system enables tissue formation in a separate reactor. This multi-functional design eliminates the need for multiple specialized bioreactors and complex pump systems, directly resolving the contradiction between maintaining cell growth reliability and reducing device complexity
Solution Approach 2:
The invention merges the functions of cell growth and media supply into a single bioreactor system. After cell growth, the same bioreactor is converted to serve as the media supply vessel for the tissue formation reactor, combining what would traditionally require separate systems into one integrated unit, thereby reducing overall system complexity
2Reliability
If culture bags are suspended in bioreactors with complex pump systems, then cell culture can be performed, but ease of operation and scalability are reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The single bioreactor is designed to be reconfigurable for different operational modes (cell growth, media supply) without requiring complex reconfiguration equipment. This simplifies operation and enables easy scaling from lab to industrial production, as the same basic reactor design can be scaled in size rather than complexity
Solution Approach 2:
The system segments functions into two distinct phases: cell growth in the bioreactor, then tissue formation in a separate reactor. This clear segmentation simplifies operation by providing distinct, manageable steps rather than requiring continuous complex pump control, and facilitates scalability by allowing independent optimization of each stage
3Ease of operation
If physical cell transfer outside closed system is performed, then cells can be moved between reactors, but contamination risk increases
Solution Approach 1:
A cell retention device serves as an intermediary component that enables cell transfer from the bioreactor to the tissue formation reactor while maintaining the closed system. Cells are retained and transferred through this intermediary device without requiring opening the system, thus enabling cell transfer capability while preventing contamination
Solution Approach 2:
The system maintains continuous closed operation throughout the cell transfer process. The cell retention device and connected tubing allow cells to move between reactors through a continuous closed pathway, eliminating the need to stop and open the system, thereby maintaining contamination prevention while enabling necessary cell transfer
4Ease of manufacture
If single bioreactor is used for multiple functions, then capital expenditure is reduced, but manufacturing precision and process control become more difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The bioreactor system is designed to be dynamically reconfigurable, changing its function from cell growth to media supply based on process stage. This dynamic adaptability allows a single reactor to perform multiple functions with precision control, as parameters can be optimized for each specific function rather than requiring compromise designs for multiple simultaneous functions
Solution Approach 2:
The system operates in periodic cycles, alternating between cell growth phase and media supply phase. This periodic operation allows the single bioreactor to maintain high manufacturing precision for each function by dedicating specific time periods to each task, with full optimization for that function during its active period, rather than requiring simultaneous multi-function operation
Data Source
AI summary
The present invention is for a closed environment process for the growth and differentiation of cells and the culturing of cells to confluency for the production of tissue. The tissue may be a clean meat product.