Brief
Maddison was commissioned to design a range of bioreactors to allow our client to enter a new market area. The first was a desktop 20 litre product, followed by a second, floor mounted, 200 litre system. Both systems used a novel, single use bag approach to simplify the cultivation of cells.
Challenge and Solution
An early challenge of the smaller bioreactor system was to create a new mixing technique to circumvent the traditional ‘wave’ solution of incumbent companies with well-protected IP. Our solution was a three-dimensional mixing method and mechanism which actually provided superior fluid mixing performance. This was first tested using a proof of concept rig. Maddison developed a number of different industrial concepts for the look and feel of the bioreactor product range with careful consideration of user needs. A preferred concept was selected, and detailed product engineering undertaken to take the product through to prototyping and electronics integration. We built a small pre-production batch to test our manufacturing specification and ensure a smooth handover to our client’s manufacturing facility.
We also designed and developed the larger, 200 litre system with a similar functionality but a novel layout and its own set of challenges related to scale.
Result
Both systems have been a real success in the market and bioreactors now form a key part of the client’s product portfolio.
