Characterization of novel pneumatic mixing for single-use bioreactor application

Brian Lee,David Fang,Manuel Carrondo,Matthew Croughan,Sang-Hoon Paik

doi:10.1186/1753-6561-5-s8-o12

Abstract

Background The novel bioreactor system from PBS Biotech is the first with a pneumatic mixing device powered solely by gas buoyancy, eliminating the need for an external mechanical agitator. The patented design of the AirWheel mixing device promotes not only high tangential fluid flow around the wheel but also efficient radial and axial flows. The leverage effect of the Air-Wheel mixing device also allows for lower gassing requirement (v/v) with increasing working volume, making the power utilization from the gas buoyancy more efficient with scale. A series of physical tests were performed to demonstrate that PBS systems can promote uniform, homogenous mixing over a wide range of working volumes and can offer a low-shear environment for cell culture. A series of biological tests were then performed at various evaluation sites to confirm the physical test results.

Highlights

The novel bioreactor system from PBS Biotech® is the first with a pneumatic mixing device powered solely by gas buoyancy, eliminating the need for an external mechanical agitator
Mixing time was calculated in PBS systems ranging from 2L to 5,000L working volume by measuring the change in conductivity readings from bolus additions of concentrated salt solution. 95% mixing times were found to be between 20 sec and 62 sec over this range of working volumes in the PBS systems (Table 1), significantly shorter than reported values in conventional stirred tank systems
Lower average shear stress on the impeller and lower average energy dissipation rate (ε, in m2/s3) in the impeller region were found in the PBS system

Summary

Introduction

The novel bioreactor system from PBS Biotech® is the first with a pneumatic mixing device powered solely by gas buoyancy, eliminating the need for an external mechanical agitator. A series of physical tests were performed to demonstrate that PBS systems can promote uniform, homogenous mixing over a wide range of working volumes and can offer a low-shear environment for cell culture. Results Mixing time was calculated in PBS systems ranging from 2L to 5,000L working volume by measuring the change in conductivity readings from bolus additions of concentrated salt solution.

Results

Conclusion