The invention relates to a method of increasing the yield of virus, virus particles, or viral vectors from host cells in a fixed-bed bioreactor by specifically modifying the dissolved oxygen levels in the media.

A method for examining a culture solution containing a pH indicator and accommodated in a culture container includes: measuring, as a baseline intensity, an intensity of light that has passed through a solution and the culture container; measuring, as a measurement intensity, an intensity of light that has passed through the culture solution and the culture container; obtaining light source information including first information pertaining to the light source that is provided when measuring the baseline intensity and second information pertaining to the light source that is provided when measuring the measurement intensity; and on the basis of the baseline intensity, the measurement intensity, and the light source information, calculating an absorbance of the pH indicator at at least one wavelength included in emitted light from the light source.

Provided is a culture-medium-monitoring apparatus including: an optical measurement unit that includes an illumination light source and a collecting lens that radiate an illumination light onto a culturing liquid, a retroreflective member that has an array in which micro-reflective elements are arrayed, that is disposed so as to sandwich the vessel between the retroreflective member, and the illuminating light source and the collecting lens, and that reflects the illumination light passed through the culturing liquid in the vessel, and a light detector that detects an intensity of the illumination light passed through the culturing liquid in the vessel after being reflected by the retroreflective member; and a control portion that causes the intensity of the illumination light to be repeatedly detected at a prescribed timing, and that determines a state of the culturing liquid on the basis of a change over time in the intensity of the illumination light.

We have modified a commercially-available adherent cell culture bioreactor in several ways to increase productivity of cultured cells, while decreasing contamination risk. We found that modifying a commercially-available adherent cell culture bioreactor to provide for slower cell culture medium flow unexpectedly and dramatically increases the productivity of the cultured adherent cells. We also developed a new sampling manifold configuration and new way of taking samples, to reduce contamination risk.

A technique for learning and steering evolutionary dynamics may include initializing a bioreactor including a population of evolving organisms; determining selection pressures; (a) applying the selection pressures to the population; (b) determining the population state and storing it in a population dataset; (c) detecting whether the population has reached a stable state; (d) if the population has reached the stable state: obtaining data representing the stable state, redetermining the selection pressures based on a selection pressure policy, and storing the data and the redetermined selection pressures in a stable state dataset; (e) determining whether one or more stopping criteria have been met; and repeating steps (a)-(e) until at least one of the stopping criteria is met.

The invention relates to a device and process for converting organic waste to biogas with high methane content and improved organic conversion efficiency. Disclosed process consists of two stages and in the first stage, shredded organic waste is digested in primary digester in which biodegradable organic fractions present in waste gets converted to volatile fatty acids and alcohols dissolved in aqueous solution by hydrolytic and acidogenic microorganisms. Primary digester effluent pH, is adjusted to about 6.8-7.5 by addition of controlled alkali solution. Neutralized waste slurry is separated into liquid solution called as leachate and digested solid sludge. In the second stage, liquid leachate comprising volatile fatty acids are converted to biogas with methane content in the range 80-86% by methanogenic microbial culture in main digester under anaerobic conditions. This invention further describes optimized primary and main digester configurations with operating conditions to improve organic conversion efficiency in both the digesters.

Apparatuses and associated methods are described for the efficient evaluation of C1-containing substrates, and especially for such evaluation conducted locally, or on-site, at a prospective facility for implementation of a biological conversion process for desired end product using a C1 carbon source. The exact composition of a given, industrial C1-containing substrate, as well as the range in composition fluctuations, are generally difficult to reproduce at a remote facility (e.g., a laboratory or a pilot-scale or demonstration-scale process), as required for the accurate prediction/modeling of commercial performance to justify large capital expenditures for commercial scale-up.

According to the invention, there is provided a parallel bioreactor system, comprising: an oscillator for generating oscillating motion; a plurality of culture vessels mounted on the oscillator, wherein each culture vessel is provided with an inner cavity, the inner cavity comprises a cylindrical portion at the upper part and an inverted truncated conical bottom at the lower part, a cross section of the cylindrical portion is consistent with the cross section of the top of the inverted truncated conical bottom, and the bottom of the cylindrical portion is joined with the top of the inverted truncated conical bottom; disposable culture bags arranged in the inner cavities of the culture vessels and used for accommodating culture solution, wherein each disposable culture bag is provided with a multifunctional cover plate, and the multifunctional cover plate is connected to the top of the culture bag to seal the culture bag, and is provided with a plurality of connection holes leading to interior of the disposable culture bag; and a control system, wherein the control system controls the oscillating motion of the oscillator and parameters of the culture solution in the disposable culture bags.

Systems and methods for fractionating whole stillage from an ethanol production facility are provided. Whole stillage undergoes a separation of its liquid portion (thin stillage) from the solid portion (fiber cake). In some embodiments, the solids and liquids in whole stillage may be separated utilizing a screening centrifuge. The fiber cake may be dried to generate a high fiber animal feed. The thin stillage may be provided to a three-phase separator for separation into an oil emulsion, an aqueous clarified stillage, and a protein paste. The protein paste may be dried to generate a high protein animal feed with greater than about 45% protein content. The clarified thin stillage is condensed to yield a syrup with greater than around 60% solids. The oil emulsion is subjected to a pH adjustment to liberate the oil from the emulsion, which is then separated.

The invention is comprised among control devices for controlling and monitoring fluids and for the handling thereof. The invention relates to the integration of these control devices in a disposable cartridge cooperating with a platform for a system for monitoring and controlling a fluid. Specifically, the invention relates to a disposable cartridge and a platform, cooperating with one another, for a system for monitoring and controlling the state of a fluid, wherein the cartridge comprises at least two sensors. The invention also relates to a system and installation for monitoring and controlling the state of a fluid. More particularly, the present invention is intended for monitoring and controlling the state of a cell culture.