Bioreactor for growing biological materials supported on a liquid surface

Abstract

A bioreactor assembly of the present invention for holding a media and supporting growth of a plurality of plants. The assembly includes a light source and a container having a light transmissive wall structure and defining a reservoir. A major axis of the reservoir is substantially horizontal allowing the reservoir to be filled with media to a partial level and to define a relatively large surface area for support of the plants. The assembly may also include clamps to secure and seal separate wall structure portions of the container together, and end caps to the wall portions, to define an aseptic environment. As another option, the clamps may define openings therethrough that allow passage of various devices for measuring and controlling bioreactor function such as a gas supply nozzle, a gas exit nozzle, an air temperature probe, a pH probe, a sampling drain, a gas composition probe and a media temperature probe.

1 . An assembly for holding a media and supporting growth of a biological material requiring light for proliferation, said assembly comprising: 
 at least one light source; and    at least one container positioned adjacent the light source, said container having a flexible light transmissive wall structure defining an elongate, aseptic reservoir, said elongate reservoir having a major axis with a substantially horizontal orientation wherein said reservoir is capable of being partially filled with media so as to create a media surface on which the biological material is supported.    
     
     
         2 . An assembly according to  claim 1 , wherein the wall structure has a constant cross-section along said major axis.  
     
     
         3 . An assembly according to  claim 2 , wherein the cross-section is a rectangular cross-section.  
     
     
         4 . An assembly according to  claim 1 , wherein the wall structure is between 4 and 20 feet in length.  
     
     
         5 . An assembly according to  claim 1 , additionally including a rack, with a plurality of said containers supported by said rack and arranged in a vertical stack with spacing therebetween.  
     
     
         6 . An assembly according to  claim 5 , wherein the light source includes a plurality of electrically powered lights positioned in the spacing between the plurality of said containers, the plurality of electrically powered lights extending in the substantially horizontal plane.  
     
     
         7 . An assembly according to  claim 1 , wherein the wall structure has a constant oval-shaped cross-section along said major axis and wherein the oval shaped cross-section has a major axis extending in the substantially horizontal plane.  
     
     
         8 . An assembly according to  claim 1 , further comprising at least one of a gas supply nozzle, a gas exit nozzle, an air temperature probe, a pH probe, a sampling drain, a gas composition probe and a media temperature probe extending into the reservoir through an opening defined by the container.  
     
     
         9 . An assembly for holding a media and supporting growth of a biological material requiring light for proliferation, said assembly comprising: 
 a support rack;    a plurality of elongate laterally extending containers carried by said support rack and arranged in a stack spaced apart vertically from one another, each container having a flexible light transmissive wall structure defining an elongate, aseptic reservoir, said elongate reservoir having a major axis with a substantially horizontal orientation wherein the reservoir is capable of being partially filed with media so as to create a media surface on which the biological material is supported; and    at least one light source carried by said support rack and mounted adjacent to said containers for illuminating the containers.    
     
     
         10 . An assembly according to  claim 9 , wherein said support rack includes a plurality of upright support members, and upper and lower laterally extending support rails interconnecting said upright support members, and wherein said containers are mounted to said upright support members.  
     
     
         11 . An assembly according to  claim 9 , wherein said at least one light source comprises a plurality of elongate fluorescent tubes mounted to said rack.  
     
     
         12 . An assembly according to  claim 11 , wherein the tubes extend vertically and are laterally spaced from one another.  
     
     
         13 . An assembly according to  claim 11 , wherein the tubes extend substantially horizontally and generally parallel to the containers.  
     
     
         14 . A method of growing in a liquid media a biological material requiring light for proliferation, said method comprising: 
 providing at least one flexible light transmissive container defining a reservoir having a major axis with a substantially horizontal orientation;    filling the reservoir with the liquid media until a partial fill level is reached so as to define a top surface of the media extending along a length of the reservoir;    adding the biological material to the reservoir and supporting the biological material on the top surface of the media; and    exposing the container to a light source so as to promote growth of the biological material via photosynthesis.    
     
     
         15 . A method of  claim 14 , further comprising sealing the reservoir against contamination after filling the reservoir with liquid media and adding the biological material.  
     
     
         16 . A method of  claim 14 , wherein providing the light transmissive container includes clamping portions of the light transmissive container together using one or more clamps.  
     
     
         17 . A method of  claim 14 , further comprising accessing the reservoir through an opening defined in the container.  
     
     
         18 . A method of  claim 17 , wherein accessing the reservoir includes inserting a gas supply nozzle through the clamp opening and supplying gas to the reservoir.  
     
     
         19 . A method of  claim 17 , wherein accessing the reservoir includes inserting a temperature probe through the clamp opening and measuring a temperature within the reservoir.  
     
     
         20 . A method of  claim 17 , wherein accessing the reservoir includes inserting a pH probe through the clamp opening and measuring a pH of the media within the reservoir.  
     
     
         21 . A method of  claim 17 , wherein accessing the reservoir includes draining a sample through the clamp opening.  
     
     
         22 . A method of  claim 14 , wherein filling the reservoir includes supplying the media through an opening defined in an end of the container.  
     
     
         23 . A method of  claim 14 , further comprising draining the liquid media from the reservoir after filling the reservoir.  
     
     
         24 . A method of  claim 14 , further comprising automatically measuring and controlling one of a temperature, a media pH, the media fill level, gas pressure and gas concentration.  
     
     
         25 . A method of  claim 14 , further comprising supplying conditioned air around the container to control a temperate within the reservoir.  
     
     
         26 . A method of  claim 14 , further comprising heating and circulating the media.  
     
     
         27 . A method of  claim 14 , further comprising mounting a plurality of the containers in a stack spaced apart vertically from one another.