Patent Application
20250002830
The present invention relates to a lid configuration for a bioreactor, comprising a lid configured for connection with a vessel of the bioreactor, the vessel during use containing a bioreactor fluid, a bioreactor comprising such a lid configuration, a bioreactor configuration kit comprising such a lid configuration, as well as a method for producing such a lid configuration.
A bioreactor generally relates to a manufactured or engineered device or system that supports a biologically active environment. Such a bioreactor, e.g. as disclosed in the prior art documents WO 2017/083705 A1, US 2017/349874 A1 and US 2017/369828 A1, usually comprises a vessel in which a biological process is carried out which involves organisms or biochemically active substances derived from such organisms. This process can either be aerobic or anaerobic. Such bioreactors are commonly cylindrical, ranging in size from milliliters to cubic meters, and are often made of glass and/or stainless steel. A bioreactor may also refer to a device or system designed to grow cells or tissues in the context of cell culture. Such devices are being developed for use in tissue engineering or biochemical engineering. Based on their mode of operation, a bioreactor may be classified as batch, fed batch or continuous.
Organisms growing in bioreactors may be submerged in liquid medium or may be attached to the surface of a solid medium. Submerged cultures may be suspended or immobilized. Suspension bioreactors can use a wider variety of organisms, since special attachment surfaces are not needed, and can operate at much larger scale than immobilized cultures, due to optimal utilization of cell membrane surface area. In a continuously operated process, the organisms will remain in the reactor and byproducts will be removed from the reactor with the effluent.
A typical bioreactor comprises the following parts: an agitator or impeller—used for the mixing of the contents of the reactor which keeps the “cells” in the perfect homogenous condition for better transport of nutrients and oxygen to the cells, a baffle—used to break the vortex formation in the vessel, which is usually highly undesirable as it changes the center of gravity of the system and consumes additional power without adding to the mixing, a sparger—in aerobic cultivation process, the purpose of the sparger is to supply adequate gasses (such as oxygen or CO2) to the growing cells, and a jacket—the jacket provides the annular area for circulation of certain temperature of water which keeps the temperature of the bioreactor at a desired value, although the use of Peltier heating or heating blankets is also conceivable. Bioreactors generally are classified as having a volume of more than 20 liters or a volume of less than 20 liters.
US 2017/0321178 A discloses a design, a method of fabrication, and applications of a three-dimensional (3D) bioreactor for cell expansion and cell secreted substance production. The bioreactor is composed of non-random interconnected voids providing a continuous three-dimensional surface area for cell adherence and growth.
US 2017/0211026 A furthermore discloses a membrane, including a polymeric network configured to separate a first fluid and a second fluid, where the first and second fluids are different; and a plurality of enzymatic reactive components embedded within the polymeric network. The bioreactor may include a lattice of three dimensional structures, each structure including a membrane having: a polymeric network configured to separate a first fluid and a second fluid, where the first and second fluids are different; and a plurality of enzymatic reactive components embedded within the polymeric network.
In practice, bioreactors are relatively complex and expensive to produce (in particular bioreactors having a volume of less than 20 liters), especially in low quantities, and even more difficult and expensive to configure by an end user, for instance a biologist. Such a biologist knows the parameters needed for the respective bioreactor process to be properly used or studied, such as the production of insulin, and the type of bioreactor design/configuration required to achieve this.
The abovementioned problem of complex and expensive production has been partially addressed by some manufacturers by providing a bioreactor lid and/or a reactor vessel made of plastic. The relatively inexpensive and easy to produce plastic lid and/or bioreactor vessel can be disposed of after use. Some manufacturers advantageously use 3D-printing to produce the plastic lid (and/or bioreactor vessel).
Such a single-use or disposable solution has several further advantages, apart from reducing complexity and production cost. Single-use technologies also reduce assembly/disassembly, cleaning, sterilization and calibration demands. Some estimates show cost savings of more than 60% with single use systems compared to fixed asset stainless steel bioreactors. In pharmaceutical production, complex qualification and validation procedures can be made easier, and will finally lead to significant cost reductions. The application of single-use bioreactors reduces the risk of cross-contamination and enhances the biological and process safety. Single-use applications are suitable for any kind of biopharmaceutical product. Single-use bioreactors also contain fewer parts compared with conventional bioreactors, so the initial and maintenance costs are reduced.
However, a problem with disposable or single-use bioreactors is that the sensor or controllers elements to be used, i.e. to sense/measure or control bioreactor process parameters, such as temperature, pH, pressure, oxygen content, et cetera, are often still made of expensive or complex materials, such as stainless steel. Therefore, in practice, the above parts still have to be cleaned, disinfected, assembled/disassembled, et cetera, after use, negating the benefits of having a single-use or disposable lid and/or vessel. Moreover, such disposable or single-use bioreactors are difficult to configure or customize by the end user, due to the relatively limited range of available sensor or controller elements, i.e. the end user is too limited in customizing the bioreactor according to his wishes.
The present invention relates to a lid configuration for a bioreactor, wherein the lid configuration, i.e. with the sensor or controller elements, is substantially disposable.
The present invention also relates to a lid configuration for a bioreactor, wherein the end user is provided with a higher degree of configurability and customizability than with present-day lid configurations.
Hereto, the lid configuration for a bioreactor according to the invention (e.g. the lid or head plate), is provided with one or more 3D-printed sensor or controller elements for, during use, sensing or controlling one or more parameters of the bioreactor, in particular the bioreactor fluid. The lid configuration is characterized in that the one or more 3D-printed sensor or controller elements comprise one or more 3D-printed inlets or outlets. In other words, the lid configuration for a bioreactor is characterized by the lid being provided with one or more 3D-printed inlets or outlets.
The Applicant has found that the aforementioned lid configuration allows the lid configuration, i.e. with the sensor or controller elements, to be substantially disposable (i.e. as a whole).
At the same time, the end user is provided with a much higher degree of configurability and customizability than with present-day lid configurations, due to one or more of the sensor or controller elements being 3D-printed.
For example, the inlets or outlets may be spargers, water inlets, gas outlets, nutrient inlets, anti-foam inlets, steam inlets, inoculant inlets, et cetera. Therein, both “fluids”, such as gasses or liquids, as well as solid materials may be transported through the inlets or outlets. The Applicant has found that in particular the bioreactor components that are continuously or frequently exposed to a gas or fluid can advantageously be made “single-use”, produced with 3D-printing, due to these components not having to be cleaned afterwards.
The fluid in the vessel of the bioreactor may e.g. be a liquid, with a layer of foam on top of said liquid. A further advantage of 3D-printed inlets or outlets, especially when the inlet has a tube that extends into the vessel of a bioreactor, is that fluids may be injected directly into the liquid (instead of being dripped onto the foam). This results in a better controllable and more precise biological process inside the bioreactor.
A further advantage of 3D-printed inlets or outlets is that a shape of the inlet or outlet may be optimally tailored to a specific function. Using 3D printing techniques, shapes and designs become obtainable which were previously impossible to manufacture. As a mere example, it becomes possible to match the inlet end of an outlet to the shape of the bottom of the vessel, to allow (almost) every drop of fluid to be sucked from the bottom of the vessel, with hardly any spoiling. As a further example, an inlet end of an outlet may have one or more openings in its circumferential wall, e.g. only at the top portion (the portion facing the lid) or only at the bottom portion (the portion facing a bottom of the vessel). This allows to suck only very specific types of fluid from the vessel. For example, this allows to suck supernatant liquids, i.e. fluids which float on top of other fluids just like oil floats on top of water, from the vessel.
A further advantage of 3D-printed inlets or outlets is that e.g. coaxial inlet and/or outlet tubes, and/or parallel inlet and/or outlet tubes may be manufactured relatively cheaply. Especially when the vessel is relatively small, e.g. 3 liters or less, and when relatively many components are needed, e.g. an impeller, one or more sensors such as a temperature sensor, a fluid level sensor, a pH sensor, and several inlets and/or outlets, e.g. more than 3, such as 4, 5, 6 or more inlets and/or outlets, it may become problematic to sufficiently miniaturize all components and they may not fit inside the vessel. When one or more of the inlets and/or outlets are however 3D-printed, e.g. a coaxial tube may be easily and cost-efficiently manufactured, and/or a tube with several outlet ends may be easily and cost-efficiently manufactured, to provide more functionality inside a relatively small bioreactor vessel.
It should be understood that in the below, if reference is made to ‘sensor or controller elements’, this may refer to inlets, outlets, or other sensor or controller elements (such as an agitation element).
It should be understood that, within the context of this patent application, 3D-printing is any of various processes in which material is joined or solidified to create a three-dimensional object, with material being added together (such as liquid molecules or powder grains being fused together). 3D-printing is often used in both rapid prototyping and additive manufacturing (AM). Objects can be of almost any shape or geometry and typically are produced using digital model data from a 3D model or another electronic data source such as an Additive Manufacturing File (AMF) file (usually in sequential layers). There are many different technologies, like stereo-lithography (SLA) or fused deposit modeling (FDM). Thus, unlike material removed from a stock in the conventional machining process, 3D printing or AM builds a three-dimensional object from computer-aided design (CAD) model or AMF file, usually by successively adding material layer by layer.
The term “3D-printing” originally relates to a process that deposits a binder material onto a powder bed with inkjet printer heads layer by layer. More recently, the term is being used in popular vernacular to encompass a wider variety of additive manufacturing techniques. Therefore, in the context of this patent application, the term “additive manufacturing techniques” can be used interchangeably with the term “3D-printing”.
The Applicant foresees particular use with bioreactors in which many different biological processes and different cell types and therapies for addressing diseases can be used or created, including diabetes mellitus types 1 and 2, i.e. “regenerative medicine” bioreactors, or for the production of insulin. In addition, the Applicant foresees advantageous use with “tissue engineering bioreactors”.
An embodiment relates to an aforementioned lid configuration, wherein the one or more 3D-printed sensor or controller elements further comprise a 3D-printed agitation element. In particular when agitation elements with pitched-blade impellers are used, which are flat and set at an angle with respect to the plane perpendicular to the shaft, such as a 45° angle, to produce a simultaneous axial and radial flow, 3D-printing provides many advantages. By 3D-printing the agitation element, the Applicant found that the end user can define highly complex shapes to achieve optimal mixing performance, creating e.g. a higher oxygen mass transfer rate and less shear force on the cells.
An embodiment thus relates to an aforementioned lid configuration, wherein the agitation element comprises an impeller, such as a (3D-printed) screw or helix.
An embodiment thus also relates to an aforementioned lid configuration, wherein the agitation element comprises a 3D-printed shaft. The drive motor connection for the agitation element, usually positioned above the lid, however, is preferably made in a conventional way—i.e. generally not having 3D-printed parts (in view of wear and tear caused by rotational movement).
An embodiment relates to an aforementioned lid configuration, wherein the 3D-printed sensor or controller elements and/or the 3D-printed lid are made of a biodegradable material, such as a biodegradable plastic. Biodegradable means that the material used should show evidence of breaking down in nature until microorganisms digest the material and the material returns to nature. This process must happen in a reasonably short period of time after disposal. When something is just degradable, it means that it will break down into smaller pieces and will not necessarily be digested by microorganisms. Preferably, the material will be completely biodegrade fast enough in a certain environment, i.e. the material then constitutes a compostable plastic. The material breaks down into carbon dioxide, water, and biomass at the same rate as paper and fully disintegrates in a compost pile, wherein no toxic residues are left and the compost supports plant growth.
Preferably, the biodegradable material comprises ABS (acrylonitrile butadiene styrene) and PLA (polylactic acid). ABS is a thermoplastic that is advantageous for 3D printing because of its strength and durability. PLA is often compostable, though it requires a very specific temperature and environment to do so. It is made from products like corn starch, sugar cane, and tapioca root so it can be absorbed by microorganisms.
An embodiment relates to an aforementioned lid configuration, wherein the 3D-printed sensor or controller elements and/or the lid are made of a biocompatible material. The Applicant foresees particular use of bioreactors with “bedside medicine”. Therein, it is important that the 3D-printed sensor or controller elements and/or the lid are made of a biocompatible material, wherein product contact surfaces are “not reactive, additive or absorptive”, i.e. the presence of leachables and extractables is minimized. Extractables are defined as container-closure contaminants that can be extracted from plastic materials under ‘forcing’ conditions, i.e. high temperatures and pressures, organic solvents, et cetera. In contrast, leachables are defined as those contaminants that can be extracted from the container closures under standard ICH storage conditions. As such, leachables are a sub-set of extractables.
A thorough understanding and control of extractables and leachables in liquid and semi-solid products has long been a regulatory requirement—for instance laid down in regulatory guidelines such as EudraLex, i.e. the collection of rules and regulations governing medicinal products in the European Union (in particular in Volume 4, Chapter 5, which relates to Good Manufacturing Practices or “GMP”). The use of biocompatible materials is therefore deemed highly advantageous by the Applicant.
An embodiment relates to an aforementioned lid configuration, wherein the 3D-printed sensor or controller elements and/or the 3D-printed lid are produced by means of laser sintering. Laser sintering is particularly useful for use with limited-run manufacturing to produce end-use parts, such as configurable bioreactors, in particular for use in laboratory settings.
An embodiment thus relates to an aforementioned lid configuration, wherein the lid is a 3D-printed lid.
Another aspect of the invention relates to a bioreactor comprising:
An embodiment relates to an aforementioned bioreactor, wherein the vessel has a volume of 1 milliliter-20 liters, preferably 100 milliliters-20 liters, more preferably 500 milliliters-5 liters, even more preferably 3 liters. The use of 3D-printing for producing the sensor or controller elements is particularly useful for use with relatively low volume, configurable bioreactors, for instance for use with small scale experiments. However, of course, it is also conceivable for the vessel to have higher volumes, for instance volumes up to several 1000's of liters.
An embodiment relates to an aforementioned bioreactor, wherein the vessel is made of plastic, preferably biodegradable plastic, such that the bioreactor as a whole can be disposed of after the process or experiment is complete.
An embodiment relates to an aforementioned bioreactor, wherein the vessel is a 3D-printed vessel to further optimize configurability and customizability.
An embodiment relates to an aforementioned bioreactor, wherein the vessel of the bioreactor comprises a 3D-printed outlet, e.g. a side outlet, preferably arranged in the bottom half of the vessel, more preferably arranged in the bottom quarter of the vessel, such as in the bottom 10% of the vessel. An advantage of such a 3D-printed side outlet is that it allows a customization of the connection port, associated with the side outlet such that any device can be connected to the 3D-printed outlet, and that the bioreactor can thus be optimally tailored to the intended use of the bioreactor.
Yet another aspect of the invention relates to a bioreactor configuration kit, comprising:
Thus, a wide range of 3D-printed sensor or controller elements, to be connected to the lid, can be produced in advance. When the bioreactor is to be used or to become operational, the 3D-printed sensor or controller elements are then selected from the range of 3D-printed sensor or controller elements by the end user, according to his or her wishes or requirements.
Another aspect of the invention relates to the use of a bioreactor or bioreactor kit as described in the above for growing organisms.
Another aspect of the invention relates to a method for producing an aforementioned lid configuration, comprising the steps of:
An embodiment relates to an aforementioned method, further comprising the steps of:
Thus, a highly individual, specific bioreactor can be designed from the start, e.g. for use with a unique experiment or process.
Preferably, prior to determining the 3D-printed sensor or controller elements required for carrying out the experiment or process, a design, such as a 3D digital design, is made of the bioreactor for carrying out the process or experiment, and the 3D-printed sensor or controller elements required for carrying out the experiment or process are determined from the design, such as a 3D digital design comprised by an STL file.
An embodiment thus relates to an aforementioned method, further comprising the steps of:
Another aspect of the invention relates to a lid configured for connection with a vessel of a bioreactor. The vessel is configured to contain a bioreactor fluid. The lid comprises
The present invention will be explained hereafter with reference to exemplary embodiments of the lid configuration and bioreactor according to the invention and with reference to the drawings. Therein:
The one or more 3D-printed sensor 5 or controller 6 elements may comprise one or more 3D-printed inlets 11 or outlets 12, such as a fluid inlet 11 in the form of a gas inlet 14. The outlet 12 may comprise a fluid outlet 12 in the form of a sample outlet 17, a gas outlet 18 or a harvest outlet 19. The inlets 11 and outlets 12 could be used not just for transporting gasses or liquids, but also for transporting solid materials or substances. The sensor 5 or controller elements 6 may further comprise one or more miscellaneous inlet/outlets 20. The lid 3 may also be provided with ports 15 for level sensors (not shown), a port 16 for a pH sensor (not shown), or a port 21 for a temperature sensor 5. The ports 15, 16, 21 could, of course, also receive other types of sensor elements. As can be seen in
Preferably, the 3D-printed sensor 5 or controller 6 elements and/or the 3D-printed lid 3 are made of a biodegradable material, such as a biodegradable plastic. More preferably, the 3D-printed sensor 5 or controller 6 elements and/or the 3D-printed lid 3 are made of a biocompatible material. The 3D-printed sensor 5 or controller elements 6 and/or the 3D-printed lid 3 can be produced by means of laser sintering, which is particularly useful for use with limited-run manufacturing to produce end-use parts, such as configurable bioreactors 2, in particular for use in laboratory settings.
The lid configuration 1 could also be part of a bioreactor configuration kit (not shown), i.e. a kit of parts, comprising:
A method for producing the lid configuration 1 may comprise the steps of:
The method may further comprise the steps of:
Preferably, prior to determining the 3D-printed sensor 5 or controller 6 elements required for carrying out the experiment or process, a design, such as a 3D digital design, is made of the bioreactor 2 for carrying out the process or experiment, and the 3D-printed sensor 5 or controller 6 elements required for carrying out the experiment or process are determined from the design.
The method may further comprise the steps of:
A further embodiment of the bioreactor lid is shown with respect to
Also, inlet end 122 of outlet 12 has a shape that is designed and shaped to its specific needs and that may be costly or impossible to obtain when made with production techniques other than 3D printing. The inlet end 122 of outlet 12, mainly visible in
Also, inlets 11 have an inlet tube that extends into the vessel 4 of the bioreactor 2, allowing fluids (liquids or gasses) to be added directly into the bioreactor fluid 7 (instead of being dripped onto a layer of foam that rests onto the bioreactor fluid). Also, the inlets 11 are 3D printed.
It should be clear that the description above is intended to illustrate the operation of preferred embodiments of the invention, and not to reduce the scope of protection of the invention. Starting from the above description, many embodiments will be conceivable to the skilled person within the inventive concept and scope of protection of the present invention.
The invention as described in the above may alternatively and/or additionally be described by means of the following clauses:
Clause 1. Lid configuration (1) for a bioreactor (2), comprising:
Clause 2. Lid configuration (1) according to clause 1, wherein the one or more 3D-printed sensor (5) or controller (6) elements comprise a 3D-printed agitation element (8).
Clause 3. Lid configuration (1) according to clause 2, wherein the agitation element (8) comprises a 3D-printed impeller, such as a screw (9).
Clause 4. Lid configuration (1) according to clause 2 or 3, wherein the agitation element (8) comprises a 3D-printed shaft (10).
Clause 5. Lid configuration (1) according to any one of the preceding clauses, wherein the one or more 3D-printed sensor (5) or controller (6) elements comprise one or more 3D-printed inlets (11) or outlets (12).
Clause 6. Lid configuration (1) according to any one of the preceding clauses, wherein the 3D-printed sensor (5) or controller (6) elements and/or the lid (3) are made of a biodegradable material, such as a biodegradable plastic.
Clause 7. Lid configuration (1) according to any one of the preceding clauses, wherein the 3D-printed sensor (5) or controller (6) elements and/or the lid (3) are made of a biocompatible material.
Clause 8. Lid configuration (1) according to any one of the preceding clauses, wherein the 3D-printed sensor (5) or controller elements (6) and/or the lid (3) are produced by means of laser sintering.
Clause 9. Lid configuration (1) according to any one of the preceding clauses, wherein the lid (3) is a 3D-printed lid (3).
Clause 10. Bioreactor (2) comprising:
Clause 11. Bioreactor (2) according to clause 10, wherein the vessel (4) has a volume of 1 milliliter-20 liters, preferably 100 milliliters-20 liters, more preferably 500 milliliters-5 liters, even more preferably 3 liters.
Clause 12. Bioreactor (2) according to clause 10 or 11, wherein the vessel (4) is made of plastic.
Clause 13. Bioreactor (2) according to any one of the clause 10-12, wherein the vessel (4) is a 3D-printed vessel (4).
Clause 14. Bioreactor configuration kit, comprising:
Clause 15. Method for producing a lid configuration (1) according to any one of the clauses 1-9, comprising the steps of:
Clause 16. Method according to clause 15, further comprising the steps of:
Clause 17. Method according to clause 16, wherein, prior to determining the 3D-printed sensor (5) or controller (6) elements required for carrying out the experiment or process, a design is made of the bioreactor (2) for carrying out the process or experiment, and the 3D-printed sensor (5) or controller (6) elements required for carrying out the experiment or process are determined from the design.
Clause 18. Method according to clause 15, further comprising the steps of:
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021470 | Aug 2018 | NL | national |
The present application is a Continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 17/268,084 filed on Feb. 11, 2021; which is a National phase application pursuant to 35 USC 371 of PCT Application Serial No. PCT/NL2019/050530 filed on Aug. 14, 2019; which claims priority to NL Patent Application Serial No. NL 2021470 filed on Aug. 15, 2018 and granted on Feb. 24, 2020; the disclosures of the above applications/patents are incorporated herewith by reference.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Parent | 17268084 | Feb 2021 | US |
| Child | 18808840 | US |
