Fully Automated Micro-Bioreactor

Performance Period: 4/5/2019 to 3/31/2021

Manual laboratory trials in biotechnology have high labor and time demand, which leads to prolonged R&D time and to increased capital investment for biotechnology projects. Current automation solutions are very expensive and not customizable. Especially SMEs and start-ups, and research institutes fall back upon manual methods, which lead them to fall behind in the highly competitive biotechnology market.

The aim of this project is to develop a proof-of-concept for modular microbioreactor system especially for Biotech Industry by tackling mechatronic, electronic and bioprocess engineering challenges. The identification of critical specifications, target application, implementation of the design, system validation and bio-validation are the main tasks of the project. By the end of the project, safety, robustness, repeatability and performance of the Alpha prototype will be ensured. It is intended to provide a low cost, highly modular solution for automation of laboratories with a high-throughput micro bioreactor for the cultivation of wide range of cells. This is going to reduce CAPEX and OPEX and speed-up (up to 200 times) the R&D projects such as development of bio-molecules and industrial cell lines.