Materials, Sampling and Restart Priorities in Synthetic Biology
| Instrument or workstation | Main liquid handling tasks | Confirm first | Acceptance priorities |
|---|---|---|---|
| Microbioreactors | Feeding, sampling and drainage in small-volume systems | Supply mode, sampling budget, parallel-path isolation and contamination boundaries | Individual and cumulative quantities, representativeness and volume records |
| Biofoundry Construct Development and Screening | Liquid handling for construction, cultivation and screening | Sample and well identities, actual reagents, consumables and resources | Per-well delivery, contamination, traceability and screening results |
| Continuous feeding | Continuous or alternating feeding and bottle-change switching | Permissible flow stops, actual backpressure, initial composition and protective-component resistance | Flow trends, cumulative volume and permitted restart after interruptions |
| Online sampling | Process sampling, path renewal and method-specific pretreatment | Analyte, delay, discard or recovery strategy, and complete flow path | Analyte retention, representativeness, volume disturbance and recovery |
| Bioprocess Integration | Multibranch feeding, sampling, washing and recovery | Operating conditions by branch, cumulative state, interlocks and maintenance bypass | Actual delivery, identity, isolation and recovery during extended runs |
Define additions, withdrawals and allowed interruptions for the process
Use the culture vessel or screening well as the starting point. Define each feed profile, sampling withdrawal and path-renewal discard, then include them in the volume record over the operating period. Select discrete metering or continuous supply according to the required delivery pattern and permissible interruption, with valves and connections keeping feed, sample, wash and waste destinations distinct. Bubble and pressure signals support controller decisions about fluidic events; culture condition and the complete contamination-control boundary require their own process checks.
Instrument or method objectiveFluid paths and operating statesWorking volume and cycle timeCandidate configurationReceipt and method validation
Roles of commonly used products in this field
| Product category | Main functions in this field |
|---|---|
| Syringe pump | Pulse feeding and discrete sampling; fixed-path reagent distribution; intermittent or alternating supply; sample-volume and transfer control; discrete feeding and sampling |
| Valveless metering pumps | Suitable repeated or continuous feeding; suitable long-duration feed metering; suitable drive for continuous-feed branches |
| Multiport rotary valve | Selection of feeding, sampling and maintenance destinations; selection among sources and target paths; selection of formulation and replenishment sources; selection of sampling, renewal and receiving destinations; connections for multiple process tasks |
| Tubing pinch-off solutions | Isolation of flexible-tubing feed or sample branches; flexible-branch isolation and maintenance; sampling-tube isolation; flexible-path isolation and module maintenance |
| Gas-liquid diaphragm pump | Suitable gas-containing waste aspiration; suitable waste and gas-liquid drainage |
| Bubble and pressure detection | Branch signals for process monitoring and restart control; the controller records abnormal feed intervals and associates events with potentially affected wells, steps and sample identities. |
| Tubing and fittings | Connections between feed sources, cultures and sample destinations; fixed-station and shared-path connections; extended-run feed paths and loads; connections between process ports, pretreatment and analysis; long-term wetted paths and sealed module connections |
| Air-displacement pipetting pump | Tip-based liquid handling for construction and screening |
| Liquid diaphragm pump | Actual shared wash stations and auxiliary supply |
| Check valves | Backflow limitation in feed branches |
| Filters | Method-required sample treatment |
Validate component operating points and application results separately
Measure individual delivery for discrete feeding, time-window flow and run-total volume for continuous feeding. For sampling, check target representativeness, renewal discard and process-volume records together. Link sample and well identities during construction and screening; after extended-run interruptions, verify actual vessels and completed actions. Evaluate fluid states, process results and contamination boundaries separately.
Explore related application fields by task
Information needed to start a configuration discussion
| Information category | Information needed |
|---|---|
| Biological task | Culture, construct, screening or analytical target and acceptance criteria |
| Materials and volumes | Branch formulations, feed profiles, sampling and discard budgets, and run duration |
| Flow-path boundaries | Culture vessels, shared sections, isolation, materials and cleaning or sterilization procedures |
| Recovery records | Cumulative delivery, sample identity, unfinished actions and permitted compensation |