OPTICAL SENSOR FOR MONITORING CELL NUMBER IN BIOREACTORS.

OPTRA INC., INTENDS TO DEMONSTRATE THE FEASIBILITY OF MEASURING THE DENSITY OF MAMALIAN CELLS IN BIOREACTOR SUSPENSION CULTURES WITH THE USE OF AN OPTICAL SENSOR FOR ON-LINE MONITORING. THE PROPOSED OPTICAL SYSTEM WILL OPERATE BY DETECTING THE INTENSITY OF THE LIGHT DIFFRACTED BY THE CELLS IN THE SAMPLING CHAMBER AS A FUNCTION OF THE ANGULAR SPECTRUM OF SCATTERED LIGHT. THE OPTICAL SENSOR IS DESIGNED TO BE INSERTED INTO A REACTOR THROUGH A SAMPLING PORT, AND WILL BE CONNECTED TO A MICROPROCESSOR. THE MICROPROCESSOR WILL PROVIDE A READOUT OF THE CELL CONCENTRATION AND MEAN CELL SIZE OF THE CULTURE, AND COULD MONITOR SEVERAL SENSORS IN DIFFERENT BIOREACTORS. IN PHASE I, THE PROTOTYPE INSTRUMENT WILL BE CONSTRUCTED AND THE SYSTEM WILL BE TESTED USING SUSPENSIONS OF CALIBRATED PLASTIC MICROSPHERES AND SEVERAL MAMALIAN CELL LINES. AFTER DEVELOPMENT AND COMMERCIALIZATION, THIS INSTRUMENTATION WILL AID IN THE OPTIMIZATION AND AUTOMATION OF MASS CELL CULTURE TECHNIQUES.