The invention relates to a method for detecting organisms in a liquid sample, comprising the provision of a capture area including particles in a liquid medium and subjected to a hydrodynamic flow, wherein the organisms to be detected are capable of binding to these particles, the method comprising the steps of: (a) circulating the sample through the capture area; (b) circulating a growth medium through the capture area; and (c) determining the presence, nature or concentration of organisms in the capture area; said particles being retained in the capture area as a fluidized bed for at least one part of these steps.

The invention also relates to a system for implementing this method.

The invention relates to a probe for measuring the biomass content in a medium having a suspending fluid and cells. The probe has at least three electrodes, wherein two of the electrodes are configured as excitation electrodes for transmitting an excitation signal through a medium. Two of the electrodes are configured as signal electrodes for receiving an excitation signal that has passed through the medium. The or each signal electrode is located between the two excitation electrodes at a position where a high current density is generated. The probe can have two excitation electrodes and four signal electrodes. The signal electrodes are configured substantially in parallel and arranged in couples adjacent each other, at positions between the excitation electrodes. The signal electrodes are configured such that (i) a first couple of signal electrodes are arranged between the closest end points of the excitation electrodes at one side of the probe, and (ii) a second couple of signal electrodes are arranged between the closest end points of the excitation electrodes at the other side of the probe.

A multi-wavelength laser diode based optical sensor system capable of monitoring the dynamics and physiological changes of a microorganism culture in real-time. The microorganism culture from a microorganism production chamber is pumped to a flow chamber. Laser diodes emit light at certain wavelengths through the flow chamber, which is sensed by photodiodes. A laser control circuitry is operatively connected to the laser diodes and a signal conditioning circuitry is operatively connected to the photodiodes. A microprocessor reads and records voltage signals corresponding to the wavelengths. A data acquisition system converts said voltage signals into measurements of biological parameters, which are displayed on a graphical user interface and allow a user to monitor the measurements in real time.

Provided is a sample image management system that uses a cell culture vessel including a plurality of microwells and a plurality of first identifiers provided to the respective microwells in pairs. The sample image management system analyzes, in an enlarged sample image including a pair of the first identifier and the microwell, the microwell and the first identifier, and associates at least position information on the microwell with the enlarged sample image.

Gas-utilizing microorganisms are stably cultured regardless of variations in a supply flow rate of a substrate gas. Gas-utilizing microorganisms 9 are cultured in a culture solution 2 in a culture tank 10. A substrate gas containing CO and H.sub.2 or the like is supplied to the culture tank 10 and is dissolved in the culture solution 2. When a supply flow rate of the substrate gas or predetermined constituents of the substrate gas to the culture tank 10 becomes a predetermined value or lower, a culture solution 2a is rapidly discharged from the culture tank 10.

A production process monitoring system is used to monitor a set of production parameters in a production process of a plurality of production units that perform parallel production operation. The production units comprise at least one reference production unit and at least one distribution production unit. The reference production unit comprises a first sensor, a second sensor, and a reference control unit. The distribution production unit comprises a second sensor and a distribution controller. The first and second sensors of the reference production unit is configured to monitor a first and second parameters in the production parameters in the reference production unit and output a first and second signals corresponding to the first and second parameters. The second sensor of the distribution production unit is configured to monitor the second parameter in the distribution production unit and output a second parameter distribution signal corresponding to the second parameter.

A system and method are provided for harvesting target biological substances. The system includes a substrate and a first and second channel formed in the substrate. The channels longitudinally extending substantially parallel to each other. A series of gaps extend from the first channel to the second channel to create a fluid communication path passing between a series of columns with the columns being longitudinally separated by a predetermined separation distance. The system also includes a first source configured to selectively introduce into the first channel a first biological composition at a first channel flow rate and a second source configured to selectively introduce into the second channel a second biological composition at a second channel flow rate. The sources are configured to create a differential between the first and second channel flow rates to generate physiological shear rates along the second channel that are bounded within a predetermined range.

The present invention relates to cell culture in bioreactors, such as flexible cellbag bioreactors. More closely the invention relates to a method and system for determining the cell density in a bioreactor culture and for controlling the perfusion rate of a suspension culture of cells in a bioreactor, comprising measuring the oxygen uptake of primary mononuclear cells in a non-static bioreactor.

In order to simply and accurately acquire a three-dimensional image of a sample to observe the sample, a light-sheet microscope according to the present invention includes: a duct in which the sample can flow; a syringe pump for moving the sample in the duct; a cylindrical lens for causing planar illumination light along a plane intersecting the direction in which the sample is moved by the syringe pump to enter the duct; an objective lens that is disposed so as to face the radiation plane of the illumination light caused by the cylindrical lens to enter the duct and that collects fluorescence emitted from the sample moved by the syringe pump so as to pass through the radiation plane of the illumination light; and a camera for acquiring an image of the fluorescence from the sample collected by the objective lens.

A culture method for microalgae that cultures unicellular green microalgae belonging to the genus Coccomyxa and groups of organisms closely related thereto, or the Watanabea clade, in an open outdoor culture system using broth having a pH of 4 or lower. A culture method for microalgae that cultures microalgae of the genus Coccomyxa and groups of organisms closely related thereto, or Pseudococcomyxa, in an open outdoor culture system using broth having a pH of 4 or lower containing ammonia nitrogen.