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Online biomass monitoring.

systems for real time OD acquisition on shaking incubators: get the most out of your cultivations

Real-time biomass monitoring is a valuable tool with diverse applications. It enables rapid strain screening, determination of minimal inhibitory concentrations for antimicrobial susceptibility testing, optimizing media composition for enhanced productivity in bioprocesses, monitoring cell growth in tissue engineering, assessing microbial activity in environmental studies and more. By providing real-time data on biomass levels, this approach facilitates quick decision-making, improves experimental throughput and reproducibility, as well as enhances overall efficiency across various scientific disciplines.

advantages of online biomass monitoring

  • faster decision making with less cultivations and effort

  • no manual sampling required

  • eliminated risk of contamination

  • more data points

  • greater reliability

  • availability of real time data 

Our sensors are highly parallelizable, allowing significant improvements in experimental throughput.

OUR TECHNOLOGIES

Essi.tech is pioneering online biomass monitoring based on transmitted light detection, but our range of applications is extended with systems based on scattered light detection.

accuRead

transmitted light detection

scatterRead

scattered light detection

The light source and detector are facing each other. Biomass prevents the light from travelling through it; the higher the biomass, the lower the optical readout. 

The light source and detector are next to each other. Biomass scatters light in all directions and some of it is bounced onto the light detector; higher biomass titers casue more light to be detected. 

accuRead

transmitted light detection

The transmitted light detection principle of the accuRead technology is similar to spectrophotometers with two additions:

  • the detection principle is adapted to work online during the shaking operation

  • the dynamic LED power adaptation reassures readouts also in high biomass ranges

Because of this it is possible to measure a large range of biomass titers (ODs) during the shaking operation with the acquired data directly comparable to offline spectrophotometric measurements.

scatterRead

scattered light detection

The transmitted light detection principle of the scatterRead technology features an accelerometer to determine the optimal timeslot to take a measurement. Although the acquired data is not directly comparable to offline measurements with spectrophotometers, it is exceptionally simple to integrate and works with a large range of vessels.

comparison of technologies

*Occasional discrepancies between spectrophotometers as well as accuRead sensors are possible.

OUR SOFTWARE

OD dock software powers most of our biomass monitoring systems. It is easy to use, enables seamless parallelization and reliably acquires data that is easy to handle.

OD dock screenshot 2.png

OUR SYSTEMS

flaskOD

Transmitted light-based OD monitoring system for Erlenmeyer flasks

FlaskOD system features custom Erlenmeyer flasks that allow transmitted light-based OD detection. accuRead technology allows accurate measurements during the shaking operation and our mounting solutions make highly parallelized experiments exceptionally simpe.

accuRead

transmitted light detection

scatterOD

Scattered light-based biomass monitoring system for a large range of vessels

The primary use of scatterOD is for vessels on shaking incubators that can not be customized for the integration of flaskOD sensor. A built in accelerometer reassures perfect measurements timing during shaking operation and our mounting solutions make workflow simple.

scatterOD 1.png

scatterRead

scattered light detection

mtpOD

Scattered light-based biomass monitoring system for 48 deep well microtiter plates 

Our most high-throughput system represents a great leap forward in microbial studies. 48 experiments, each up to 5 mL in volume, can be executed on every shakerOD system, acquiring large amounts of data in the highest throughput form.

scatterRead

scattered light detection

ODfinger

Scattered or transmitted light-based biomass monitoring system using fiber optics

With the development of new approaches in microbial cultivations, new solutions for monitoring are required. ODfinger is our most versatile system that can reach any geometry and detect biomass in a huge range of volumes, from as low as only a couple of nanoliters to large scale, several cubic meter reactors. 

scatterRead

scattered light detection

accuRead

transmitted light detection

CUSTOM SOLUTIONS

If unsure which system would work best for your application or if you require a customized solution get in touch with our engineers!

FEATURES

widely applicable

  • Our detection systems work for all microorganisms, including filamentous ones

easy installation

  • All systems are safe and very easy to install in most shaking incubators

  • Systems are designed to allow autoclavability of culture vessels 

adaptable

  • All systems are suitable for aerobic and anaerobic cultivations

  • Vessel sizes are adaptable upon request

easy data handling

  • Data acquisition is handled by intuitive softwares

  • The saved data can be directly opened with Excel, Notepad etc.

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