US 12,319,906 B2
Detecting foam in a bioreactor plant
Andreas Prediger, Göttingen (DE); Sina Götemann, Bovenden (DE); Marco Leupold, Göttingen (DE); and Jochen Scholz, Göttingen (DE)
Assigned to Sartorius Stedim Biotech GMBH, Gottingen (DE)
Appl. No. 17/800,427
Filed by Sartorius Stedim Biotech GMBH, Göttingen (DE)
PCT Filed Oct. 16, 2020, PCT No. PCT/EP2020/079148
§ 371(c)(1), (2) Date Aug. 17, 2022,
PCT Pub. No. WO2021/170259, PCT Pub. Date Sep. 2, 2021.
Claims priority of application No. 20159456 (EP), filed on Feb. 26, 2020.
Prior Publication US 2023/0125762 A1, Apr. 27, 2023
Int. Cl. C12M 1/21 (2006.01); C12M 1/00 (2006.01); G01D 5/24 (2006.01); G01F 23/26 (2022.01); H03K 17/955 (2006.01)
CPC C12M 41/02 (2013.01) [C12M 23/14 (2013.01); C12M 23/28 (2013.01); G01D 5/24 (2013.01); G01F 23/26 (2013.01); H03K 17/955 (2013.01)] 13 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A system for detecting at least the presence of foam of a medium in of a bioreactor plant, wherein the system comprises:
a bioreactor plant having at least one single-use container for receiving the medium, that can have the foam, and at least one exhaust port; and
at least two capacitive sensor units, each capacitive sensor unit of the at least two capacitive sensor units being attached at a different situating position of the bioreactor plant, wherein at least one capacitive sensor unit of the at least two capacitive sensor units is arranged:
(i) at a first situation position in the immediate vicinity of the exhaust port, or
(ii) at a second situation position on or in spatial proximity to an exhaust hose of the bioreactor system, wherein the exhaust hose is fluidically connected to the exhaust port, or
(iii) at a third situation at a height below the height of the exhaust port, in particular not in the immediate vicinity of the exhaust port; and
at least one monitoring unit with at least one open-loop and/or closed-loop control unit, wherein the at least one monitoring unit is configured to switch off a mixer and/or a sparging when the sensor unit arranged at the first situation position or the second situation position or the third situation position is triggered,
wherein the capacitive sensor units each comprise at least one electrode system for a capacitive measurement and can detect the presence of foam at the situating positions on the basis of the capacitive measurement; and
wherein the capacitive sensor units are designed to transmit recorded data concerning the presence of foam to the at least one monitoring unit for monitoring, open-loop control and/or closed-loop control of foam formation in the bioreactor plant based on said data.