I-Corps: Microwave flow cytometer for real-time monitoring of fermentation

这个I-Corps项目的更广泛的影响/商业潜力是为啤酒厂、蒸馏厂、生物燃料生产商和生物制药公司提供新技术，以提高产量、降低成本和最大限度地减少潜在损失。 微波流式细胞术（microFC）技术有望在不使用昂贵试剂的情况下以高通量和真实的时间精确地测量细胞密度、监测细胞活力和检测微生物污染。长期和持续的监测过程也需要最少的人为干预。因此，该技术有望为其用户提供精确和即时的信息，用于过程控制和优化以及早期污染检测。 它可以帮助提高产量和产品质量，同时节省水、能源和人力，同时促进新的生物制造工艺和新产品的发现。I-Corps项目将通过调查使用生物细胞制造产品的公司的需求，探索微波流式细胞术（microFC）技术的市场潜力。microFC基于新颖的微波干涉仪技术，该技术包括新颖的调谐机制，以覆盖宽带频率范围以实现特异性，并允许高灵敏度感测。在干涉仪系统中采用的是具有嵌入式微流体的微波传感器，其通过传感器运输单个细胞，测量酵母细胞和细菌的多个参数，包括细胞密度（细胞/mL）、体积和生理状态（活力和床细胞）。测量是无试剂和非侵入性的。microFC有望实现低成本和易于使用的在线电池监测，这将填补工业界和学术界的仪器空白。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

The broader impact/commercial potential of this I-Corps project is in providing new techniques for brewers, distillers, biofuel producers, and biopharmaceutical companies to increase yield, reduce cost and minimize potential losses. Microwave flow cytometry (microFC) technology is promising to accurately measure cell density, monitor cell viability, and detect microorganism contaminations at high throughput and in real time without the use of expensive reagents. The long term and continuous monitoring process also requires minimal human intervention. Thus, the technology is promising to provide its users precise and instantaneous information for process control and optimization as well as early contamination detection. It can help improve yield and product quality while save water, energy and manpower, while promoting discoveries of new biomanufacturing processes and new products.This I-Corps project will explore the market potential for microwave flow cytometry (microFC) technology by investigating the needs of companies that use biological cells to manufacture products. microFC is based on novel microwave interferometer technology, which includes novel tuning mechanisms to cover broadband frequency ranges for specificity and allows for high sensitivity sensing. Employed in the interferometer system is a microwave sensor with embedded microfluidics that transport individual cells through the sensor, measuring multiple parameters of yeast cells and bacteria including cell density (cells/mL), volume, and physiological state (viability and bedding cells). The measurements are reagent-free and noninvasive. microFC's are expected to enable low cost and easy-to-use online cell monitoring, which will fill an instrumentation gap in both industry and academia.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.