Disclosed herein is an instrument suitable for processing cells for example culturing, concentrating or washing said cells, the instrument comprising: a housing for accommodating mechanical elements including at least one fluid pump; and a disposable processing kit complementary to the mechanical elements within the housing and comprising a fluid circuit including a fluid reservoir and plural fluid paths capable of carrying fluid flow caused by said pump(s), the instrument further including a mechanism for determining the quantity, or change in quantity of the fluid in the reservoir resulting from said fluid flow, the instrument yet further comprising a controller operable to control at least the pump and operable to perform a fault determination process, which includes the steps of determining the expected flow rate of said pump(s) calculated from the speed of the pump(s) and comparing that expected flow with the change in quantity of the fluid in the reservoir as determined by said mechanism.

Systems (100) and methods for perfusion control in a bioreactor (120) are provided. The system (100) comprises a media container (110) connected to the bioreactor (120) and weighing scales (113, 123) measure weight of the bioreactor (120) and the media container (110). A plurality of controllers (225, 245) are connected to the weighing scales and configured to continuously feed the media from media container (110) to the bioreactor (120) at a user defined rate using a motor pump (112). A filter (130) is provided to receive feed from the bioreactor (120) through a recirculation line (121) and a permeate flow line (141) is connected to the filter (130) to flow out the permeate from the filter (130). When weight of the bioreactor (120) goes beyond the upper (U) or lower (L) permissible weight limit, a controller (225) connected to the weighing scale of the bioreactor (120) sends a signal to operate the permeate motor pump (142) either to flow out the permeate from the filter (130) or to stop the motor pump (142).

A reactor system includes a support housing having an interior surface bounding a chamber, the chamber having a vertically extending central longitudinal axis. A flexible bag is disposed within the chamber of the support housing and has an interior surface bounding a compartment. A mixing element is disposed within the compartment of the flexible bag. A drive element, such as a drive shaft, is secured the mixing element, wherein the mixing element is laterally offset from and/or is angled relative to the vertically extending central longitudinal axis of the support housing.

A sample storage apparatus includes: a lid member; a sample storage container; first and second fluid sucking sections; first and second fluid discharging sections; first to fourth flow paths; and a first fluid identification sensor. The first flow path is connected to the first fluid sucking section, the second flow path is connected to the second fluid sucking section, the third flow path is connected to the first fluid discharging section, and the fourth flow path is connected to the second fluid discharging section. The first fluid identification sensor for identifying a fluid is disposed in the first flow path.

A sensor unit (9) comprises a substrate (13) having a sensor (16), wiring (19) connected to the sensor (16), connection portions (20a, 20b) connected to the sensor (16) via the wiring (19), and a bent portion (17) where the sensor (16) is bent downward. The sensor (16) is formed so as to be cut out from the substrate (13) in a state in which the bent portion (17) remains on the substrate (13).

This disclosure describes hardware for microfluidic chips and an associated support module for facilitating operation of one or more microfluidic chips. The microfluidic chips described herein are designed for supporting multiple different tissue types, including kidney tissue, liver tissue, adipose cells, and so forth. Chip geometry facilities fluid flow through one or more channels of the chip with a particular flow rate. For example, shear forces are reduced where needed to ensure proper flow rate of fluid in the channels. The chamber geometry and the geometry of the channels ensures that a desired amount of oxygen is delivered to sample cells or tissues in a controlled manner.

Provided is a reaction apparatus for comprehensively measuring biodegradability of a material, comprising a device frame, an electrical control cabinet and a reaction chamber monomer. The upper side of the reaction chamber monomer is a reaction chamber body, and the lower part is a material receiving trolley. The top of the reaction chamber body is sealed by a chamber cover. A side wall is pasted with an electric heating plate and a thermal insulation cotton. A stirring paddle is arranged inside. An air inlet and an air outlet are respectively provided on a front and a rear wall. A discharging mechanism is located below. The electrical control cabinet separately controls the reaction conditions of each reaction chamber monomer. The present invention further relates to a use method thereof, which can realize the biodegradability evaluation in such three aspects as material degradation rate, disintegration rate and ecological non-toxicity test.

The present invention provides a system for the insertion of a pre-sterilized sensor probe into a sterile vessel. The system of the invention provides a reliable and straightforward way to insert one or more sterile probes into a sterile vessel. The present invention also provides a sterile vessel that includes one or more of the systems of the invention. The sterile vessel can be a flexible or semi-rigid bag or tubing of the type typically used for carrying out biochemical and/or biological processes and/or manipulating liquids and other products of such processes. Furthermore, the present invention provides a method for aseptically inserting a probe into a sterile vessel where the method makes use of the system of the invention.

A cell culture bioreactor has membranes divided into a plurality of zones. The membranes may include perfusion membranes carrying a liquid media and/or gas transfer membranes. The bioreactor has one or more sensors configured to collect data from one or more locations within the bioreactor. The supply of one or more of the gaseous and/or liquid media to a selected zone or zones may be controlled. In some examples, the supply includes a background supply and a selectable incremental supply. The bioreactor may be used to grow cells in suspension. Liquid media circulates within an extra-capillary space of the bioreactor. In some examples, a portion of cells is permitted for a period of time to be restrained within one or more zones of the membranes. Elements of a reactor may be made in a mold. A reactor may be operated in a fed-batch process.

The present invention relates in a first aspect to a plug flow tubular bioreactor having an integral or multi-part tube adapted for cultivation, and, optionally, infection, viral transduction, or transfection of eukaryotic cells. In a further aspect, the present invention relates to a plug flow tubular bioreactor system comprising the plug flow tubular bioreactor according to the present invention. Further, the present invention relates to a method for preparing virus particles, vectors, cells or other molecules including toxic molecules using the plug flow tubular bioreactor or the system according to the present invention. Finally, the present invention relates to the use of a plug flow tubular bioreactor for the preparation of virus particles, vectors including viral vectors, cells including modified cells or other molecules including toxic molecules.