ProLine RQ Process Mass Spectrometer0 pages

ProLine-RQ™ Process Mass Spectrometer
Online Gas Analysis for Bioreactors
Benefits in Fermentation
tProduct quality improvement
tReal-time tracking of gas
composition
tOnline measurement of all
components in the gas phase
tDisplay RQ along with individual
gas concentrations
tMonitor multiple fermenters at
the same time
tMore accurate mass balance
tDetection of abnormal growth
tReplace discrete analytical
devices
tLow sample flow rates (typically
< 50 ml/min)

Quantitative Analysis in a
Compact Package
Along with the increase in
complexity of biotechnology
products manufactured by
fermentation, comes the need for
fast, accurate online process gas
analysis.
t The characteristic growth curve
of a culture (and thus the biomass

Lag Phase

LOG BIOMASS

PROLINE™

PROCESS INSTRUMENTS

Exponential
Phase

growth rate) changes throughout
the fermentation process and with
it, the oxygen uptake requirement of
the living microorganism. Regulation
of the oxygen uptake is essential
since either oxygen deficiency or
too high a concentration of oxygen
in the medium can cause unwanted
changes in metabolism. The ratio of
carbon dioxide production to oxygen
uptake is known as the Respiratory
Quotient (RQ) and is a measure
of the metabolic activity of the
microorganism.
t AMETEK’s ProLine process mass
spectrometer offers a continuous
measurement of bioreactor off
gases including O2, CO2, N2, Ar and
alcohols, as well as contaminants,
providing a specific method for
determining whether to stop or
continue fermentation of the
microorganism culture.

Multicomponent, Multistream
The multiport sample inlet system
consists of 8 or 16 manifoldmounted valves and a capillary
restriction in an enclosure heated to
prevent condensation. Analysis of
multiple components and the ability

Stationary Phase

Decay Phase

During the exponential
phase, the oxygen requirement
is extremely high and requires
an analyzer with a very fast
response time to determine
the necessary process air
requirement and deliver the
correct amount of oxygen.

TIME

Figure 1. The progress of the fermentation is determined by
analysis of the composition of the reactor off-gas, particularly
the residual O2 and CO2 concentrations. The addition of input
and exhaust flow values provides the most accurate RQ value.

The ProLine-RQ comes complete with subatmospheric sampling system, automatic
valve switching, and pumping station, with
room for additional I/O capability.

to sample up to 16 streams, allows
one ProLine to monitor and control
several reactors at the same time.
Typical sample flow rates can be
much less than 50 ml/min, allowing
sampling of microliter volumes with
limited headspace. The software
provides real-time calculation of
RQ and provides the information
necessary to maximize culture
health and productivity.

Growth Curve of a Culture
Bacteria and yeasts posses an
exceptionally high metabolic activity
rate and under the right conditions
multiply very rapidly. The growth of
a microorganism fermentation over
time consists of four phases.
tIn the lag phase, the
microorganism acclimatizes to
the new environment.
tIn the exponential phase, it
reaches maximum growth.
tIn the stationary phase, as a
rule, no further propogation
takes place.
tIn the decay stage, the
microorganism begins to die
since the enery reserves of the
cells are exhausted.

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