Development of a modular micropropagation system for commercial plant propagation

微繁殖技术利用植物组织培养在无菌和明确的条件下快速繁殖植物。每年用于繁殖约10亿株植物，并构成世界各地清洁植物计划的基础。加拿大目前正在开发一个国家清洁植物系统，该系统将证明植物对各种作物无病毒/疾病，以限制害虫/疾病的传播，并促进国际出口。限制微繁殖使用的主要因素，特别是在发达国家，是这项技术对劳动力的高要求，这使得提高效率对维持/发展该行业至关重要。尽管微繁殖的广泛使用，自几十年前开发以来，基本系统没有太大变化，设计中固有的几个长期存在的问题仍然存在。最近在Jones博士的CFI资助的实验室中使用3D打印设计和生产了一种新型的模块化微繁殖系统。该容器包含内部通道和基台，可以集成各种插入物/组件来调节内部环境，以解决微繁殖的几个常见问题。开发的模块包括1）具有更好的均匀性/控制的改进的照明，其允许容器堆叠以提高生产效率，2）被动调节CO2和湿度水平以获得最佳植物生长，3）被动液体培养以促进实际的基于液体的微繁殖，4）液体体外生根模块以减少伤害并改善植物健康，以及5）微型摇杆系统，以使该技术能够以模块化方式使用，从而能够逐渐扩展。已完成多个模块的原型制作，并提交了2项临时专利。到目前为止，这些模块已经使用3D打印生产，但这种技术不适合商业规模的制造。这个项目的目标是在商业环境中评估原型，利用他们的反馈来改进模块，并建立商业规模的制造能力。这一关键步骤将使该系统从一个示范原型过渡到一个准备商业化的可行产品。

Micropropagation uses plant tissue culture to rapidly multiply plants in sterile and well-defined conditions.This is used to propagate approximately 1 billion plants per year and forms the basis of clean plant programsaround the world. Canada is currently developing a national clean plant system that will certify plants arevirus/disease free for a variety of crops to limit the spread of pests/disease and facilitate international export.The main factor limiting the use of micropropagation, especially in developed countries, is the high labourrequirements of this technique that make increased efficiency critical to sustain/grow the industry.Despite the widespread use of micropropagation, the basic systems have not changed much since beingdeveloped decades ago and several long-standing problems inherent in the design remain. A novel modularmicropropagation system was recently designed and produced using 3D printing in Dr. Jones' CFI-funded lab.The vessel contains internal channels and abutments that can integrate various inserts/components to regulatethe internal environment to address several common problems with micropropagation. The developed modulesinclude 1) improved lighting with better uniformity/control that allows vessels to be stacked for increasedproduction efficiency, 2) passive regulation of CO2 and humidity levels for optimal plant growth, 3) passiveliquid culture to facilitate practical liquid based micropropagation, 4) a liquid in vitro rooting module to reducelabour and improve plant health, and 5) a micro-rocker system to enable this technology to be used in amodular fashion to enable gradual expansion. Several modules have been prototyped and 2 provisional patentshave been submitted. To date the modules have been produced using 3D printing, but this technique is notsuitable for commercial scale manufacturing. The objectives of this project will be to evaluate the prototypesystem in a commercial setting, use their feedback to refine the modules, and establish commercial scalemanufacturing capacity. This critical step will transition the system from a demonstrated prototype to a viableproduct ready for commercialization.