Correlation between mass transfer coefficient k(L)a and relevant operating parameters in cylindrical disposable shaken bioreactors on a bench-to-pilot scale

BACKGROUND: Among disposable bioreactor systems, cylindrical orbitally shaken bioreactors show important advantages. They provide a well-defined hydrodynamic flow combined with excellent mixing and oxygen transfer for mammalian and plant cell cultivations. Since there is no known universal correlation between the volumetric mass transfer coefficient for oxygen k(L)a and relevant operating parameters in such bioreactor systems, the aim of this current study is to experimentally determine a universal k(L)a correlation. RESULTS: A Respiration Activity Monitoring System (RAMOS) was used to measure k(L)a values in cylindrical disposable shaken bioreactors and Buckingham’s π-Theorem was applied to define a dimensionless equation for k(L)a. In this way, a scale- and volume-independent k(L)a correlation was developed and validated in bioreactors with volumes from 2 L to 200 L. The final correlation was used to calculate cultivation parameters at different scales to allow a sufficient oxygen supply of tobacco BY-2 cell suspension cultures. CONCLUSION: The resulting equation can be universally applied to calculate the mass transfer coefficient for any of seven relevant cultivation parameters such as the reactor diameter, the shaking frequency, the filling volume, the viscosity, the oxygen diffusion coefficient, the gravitational acceleration or the shaking diameter within an accuracy range of +/− 30%. To our knowledge, this is the first k(L)a correlation that has been defined and validated for the cited bioreactor system on a bench-to-pilot scale.