Microbioreactors for Cell Cultures: Analysis, Modeling, Control, Applications and Beyond

Abstract

Microbioreactors offer many advantages over macro-scale reactors for the screening and cultivation of microbial cultures. However, some weaknesses of microbioreactors are yet to be overcome. Optimum mixing under laminar flow, miniaturized on-line measurements and control, integration of upstream and downstream microdevices with the microbioreactor on a single chip, and adequate mathematical models to optimize the performance are some major issues that need to be resolved. Nevertheless, recent research indicates rapidly growing understanding of these problems and it has presented some promising solutions that have led to useful commercial applications. While specialized reviews have covered specific aspects of microbioprocesses exhaustively, the present article reviews microbioreactors per se in a holistic way, analyzing their functions both in a stand-alone setting and in conjunction with other microdevices. We also consider technological developments arising out of the standard microbioreactor and its possible future ramifications.

Keywords

• Microbioreactors
• Cell cultures
• Performance analysis
• Modeling and control
• Integrated microprocesses
• Applications
• Future developments