bioRxiv Science⌕ Search
Home/Archive/bioRxiv

bioRxiv · 10.1101/2022.01.13.476044

Automated bioprocess feedback operation in a high throughput facility via the integration of a mobile robotic lab assistant

Kaspersetz, L.·Waldburger, S.·Schermeyer, M.- T.·Riedel, S. L.·Gross, S.·Neubauer, P.·Cruz-Bournazou, M.- N.
View original source ↗Export metadata ↓

Abstract

Biotechnological processes development is challenging due to the sheer variety of process parameters. For efficient upstream development parallel cultivation systems have proven to reduce costs and associated timelines successfully, while offering excellent process control. However, the degree of automation of such small scale systems is comparably low and necessary sample analysis requires manual steps. Although the subsequent analysis can be performed in a high-throughput manner, the integration of analytic devices remains challenging. Especially, when cultivation and analysis laboratories are spatially separated. Mobile robots offer a potential solution, but the implementation in research laboratories is not widely adopted. Our approach demonstrates the integration of a small scale cultivation system into a liquid handling station for an automated sample procedure. The samples are transferred via a mobile robotic lab assistant and subsequently analysed by a high-throughput analyzer. The process data is stored in a centralized database. The mobile robotic workflow guarantees a flexible solution for device integration and facilitates automation. Restrictions regarding spatial separation of devices are circumvented, enabling a modular platform throughout different laboratories. The presented cultivation platform is evaluated based on industrial relevant E. coli BW25113 high cell density fed-batch cultivation. Here its suitability for accelerating bioprocess development is proven. The necessary magnesium addition for reaching high cell densities in mineral salt medium is automated via a feedback operation loop. The feedback operation loop demonstrates the possibility for advanced control options. This study sets the foundation for a fully integrated facility with different cultivation scales sharing the same data infrastructure, where the mobile robotic lab assistant physically connects the devices.

Source connections

Explore related subjects

bioengineeringPreprint

Keep this discovery

Explore connections, maps & timelines

BibTeXRIS

Kaspersetz, L., Waldburger, S., Schermeyer, M.- T., Riedel, S. L., Gross, S., Neubauer, P., Cruz-Bournazou, M.- N.. 2022-01-14. Automated bioprocess feedback operation in a high throughput facility via the integration of a mobile robotic lab assistant. https://doi.org/10.1101/2022.01.13.476044

Cite the original work for its findings. Save a collection to share your selection of sources.

KEEP EXPLORING

Related preprints

bioRxiv2026

Single-Component Photo-Crosslinked Lipoic Acid Functionalized Mucin Hydrogels: Dynamic Mucus Mimetics for Antiviral Protection

Native mucus protects epithelial surfaces through viscoelastic networks of disulfide-linked mucins. However, commercially available mucins often fail to reconstitute comparable mechanical and barrier properties, while synthetic and hybrid mucus mimetics require polymeric crosslinkers that may alter mucus-like composition. Inspired by the native architecture, we directly functionalized porcine gastric and bovine submaxillary mucins with -lipoic acid to develop a single-component, photo-crosslinkable hydrogels. Upon UV irradiation (365 nm), the modified mucins rapidly form disulfide-crosslinked networks without added photo-initiator/ polymeric crosslinkers, two orders of magnitude faster as compared with PEG-SH approaches. The resulting mucin-lipoic acid (MUC-LA) hydrogels exhibit mucus-relevant properties, including tunable viscoelasticity, redox responsiveness, self-healing, and size-dependent restrictions on nanoparticle transport. In transwell-based infection models, MUC-LA hydrogels (2-3%) mimicking the healthy airway mucus (G' {approx} 10-20 Pa) suppress epithelial infection by SARS-CoV-2 and influenza A virus. Crosslinked MUC-LA provides greater protection against SARS-CoV-2 than the non-crosslinked, whereas both formulations suppress influenza A infection, suggesting distinct contributions from network formation and mucin-associated interactions. These findings establish a dynamic, mucus-mimetic platform integrating rapid photo-gelation, controllable mechanics, selective transport, and antiviral barrier functionality. MUC-LA hydrogels offer opportunities to investigate mucosal transport and host-pathogen interactions, with potential applications in drug delivery, and as biomaterials.

bioengineering↗
bioRxiv2026

A Fibrous Optofluidic Probe for Endovascular Sensing of Blood Oxygenation and Flow Velocity

Local hemodynamic information including blood oxygenation and flow velocity could guide vascular interventions, yet obtaining these parameters in deep, narrow vessels remains challenging. Here, we report a flexible, submillimeter-scale fibrous optofluidic probe for endovascular sensing of blood oxygenation and flow velocity. The probe integrates a polymer optical fiber for light transmission with a microfluidic tube for dye injection, enabling spectroscopic oximetry and fluorescence dilution-based velocimetry through a single device. Via vascular intervention, we demonstrate local hemodynamic sensing in rabbit arteries and angiography-guided deployment in canine carotid arteries. The probe captures local changes in blood oxygenation and flow velocity during vascular occlusion and reperfusion, revealing hemodynamic disturbances that are not reflected in peripheral monitors. These results illustrate the complementary information provided by local oximetry and velocimetry and establish a compact optofluidic platform for quantitative hemodynamic monitoring during vascular interventions.

bioengineering↗
bioRxiv2026

Broad-spectrum in situ genetic reprogramming of native microbiomes

Complex microbial communities are found throughout terrestrial, aquatic, and animal-associated ecosystems. Genetic modification of discrete microbial taxa within native communities represents a powerful tool to study and augment microbiome functions. Herein, we develop Synthetic Phage Assisted Reprogrammable and Targetable Addition (SPARTA) as a one-step strategy for packaging, delivering, and integrating large synthetic DNA into a broad range of native microbiomes. SPARTA leverages a broad-spectrum synthetic phage particle for in situ genome engineering within complex soil, freshwater, and mammalian fecal microbiomes, reprogramming 59 native species across 16 families. By modulating SPARTA components, we further demonstrated tunability of SPARTA towards targeted microbiome population. Additionally, we built a novel companion tool to quantitatively identify engineered taxa, named 16S crRNA-guided inference of bacterial engineering sequencing or ScRibe-seq. The SPARTA-ScRibe-seq pipeline delivered and validated functional synthetic gene clusters in diverse native microbiomes while preserving the original microbial community structure. Together, this novel genome engineering framework constitutes an end-to-end programmable platform for rational and customizable reprogramming of native microbiomes.

bioengineering↗