Microscale Automated Bioprocessing Tools

Microscale bioreators and its further automation have been a critical tool for the development of microbial cell factories using synthetic biology tools. Microscale instrumentation allows the screening of cells in a high throughput way to allow a wider range of combinations to be studied experimentally. While speeding up bioprocess development and providing confidence that the best performing strain has been selected, they also drastically reduce space and material costs due to their small volumes.

Nevertheless they still do not mimic larger scale operations accurately, specially if a feed regime is included. At LeoRiosLab, we are studying novel microscale fed batch bioreactor with closer mimicry of industrial production conditions. We combine technologies such as microfluidics, robotic automation, and 3D printing to develop and characterize novel automated microscale bioreactors