SBIR Phase I: Disposable, High-Purity, Plastic Bag Bioreactor with Levitated Impeller

This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project is to design, fabricate and test a single-use, affordable bioreactor based on a stirred plastic mixing bag. The central challenge in developing a practical single-use bioreactor is to provide efficient mixing in sterile, hermetically sealed plastic bags, ranging in capacities from 10 liters through 1000 liters. This project will address this problem by using a superconducting stator that will stably levitate a single-use mixing impeller within the bag, thus eliminating physical contact with its walls. In this way, the usual impeller drive, shaft, bearings and associated seals will be eliminated. The design will combine the superior mixing properties of traditional metal tanks with the disposability of plastic bags, and will incorporate low-cost, disposable remote pH sensors, oxygen sensors and gas spargers. In the Phase I project, the feasibility of producing novel terpenes by genetically engineered yeast will be demonstrated using such a bioreactor. The commercial application of this project is in the area of bioprocessing. The bioreactor is expected to be useful for both mammalian cell cultures and microbial fermentations.