IDBR: Microscale Continuous Culture Bioreactor Array

Massachusetts Institute Of Technology, Cambridge MA

Investigators

Abstract

This award is for developing a polymer-microchip-based instrument for multiple microscale continuous culture experiments in parallel. The instrument will be used for research on microbial growth kinetics for microbial physiology, genetics, ecology and biotechnology. While research has been focusing on understanding these growth kinetics from a genomic level, there is still great difficulty in making the leap from genetic analysis to accurate verification with batch culture growth experiments. Batch cultures are not ideal for characterizing cellular processes, because cells are constantly subjected to environmental changes that are difficult to analyze. In continuous culture, log-phase culture is maintained in steady state by controlling the environmental conditions and providing a steady inflow of nutrients and an outflow of culture broth from the growth vessel. A chemostat, for continuous culture experiments, can maintain consistent growth conditions for weeks, eliminating secondary growth effects that can overshadow small changes and allowing for reliable and reproducible data necessary in growth kinetics experiments. Under such long time scales, factors such as the cost of medium, maintaining sterility during medium addition, and number of experiments necessary become increasingly important. The objective of this project is to develop a system specifically designed for performing microscale parallel continuous cultures that is simple and inexpensive enough to be used in undergraduate laboratories, while providing the precision, data quality, and control capability sufficient for investigation in research laboratories. This is a project to develop plastic microchips with controlled microenvironments smaller than a drop of water, for cell growth studies. These microscale life-support systems provide oxygen to the cells, neutralize their waste, and ensure that the cells are well-fed. The goal is to develop microchips that are inexpensive enough for undergraduate labs, as well as research. The microchips will be tested in undergraduate labs by developing modules for undergraduate research projects for an undergraduate course.