After supporting the dairy and food and beverage industries for more than 30 years, an aseptic fluid handling system has found new applications in the growing biotechnology industry.
Researchers in the industry have been perplexed by questions on how to aseptically collect a sample from a bioreactor and/or holding vessel and how they could aseptically inoculate a culture into their bioreactors.
The QMI system has provided a solution to both problems.
The QMI Safe Septum has been now been used successfully to control contamination of bioreactors.
A major challenge in the industry is keeping contaminant organisms out of a bioreactor, especially during long production runs.
QMI’s system is able to maintain the aseptic integrity of bioreactors where conventional flap septa cannot. The conventional flap septa cannot maintain an aseptic seal, thus compromising the aseptic integrity of the bioreactor.
Due to its three-part construction, the device is aseptic, pressure and temperature stable, and pre-sterilised.
The multi-port designs are quickly retrofitted into a user’s existing bioreactor and it is therefore very easy for the researcher to use.
The system has individual needle guides that ensures that all needle insertions are completely separate and physically isolated from one another.
Since the needle guides are covered by a thin membrane layer, researchers will always know what needle guides have been used.
The system has been tested under extremely contaminated conditions and has been proven to automatically reseal puncture holes, eliminate leakage and physically exclude bacteria from the sampling site.
QMI has conducted studies using an independent testing laboratory that have demonstrated the system did not fail or show signs of leakage with sustained pressures of 150psi at temperatures of 250˚C for a period of 200 hours even when the ports were penetrated using an 18 gauge needle.
The QMI Safe Septum has been used to aseptically transfer materials such as acid/base for pH control, antifoaming agents, nutrient solutions, chemical solutions used for biotransformation’s and gases.
Cultured inoculums are commonly aseptically transferred using the system and when using a peristaltic pump you can control the rate for which the inoculums are introduced into the bioreactor.
For more information visit www.scientistlive.com/eurolab
QMI is based in Minnesota, USA.
