Improved lab efficiency with online monitoring of biochemical samples

The products of biochemical reactions in the laboratory are necessary for various therapeutic approaches. Examples for such reactions are dialysis, protein synthesis or the cultivation of cells. At the moment, it is only possible to decide retrospectively from sample analysis whether the desired result has been obtained during the reaction. If that is not the case, the reactions have to be repeated, delaying the production. Therefore, the SensoMem project conducted research on a laboratory-scale system in which sensors monitor the probes during the reaction, thus improving the results of the reactions. Process repetitions should thus be avoided.

IMMS researched on on a compact, energy efficient wireless sensor platform

IMMS developed a small compact wireless sensor platform as basis for a reusable sensor unit which will monitor the reactions. The combination of small installation space with the required long measuring time of up to several weeks as well as the integration and readout of various special sensors posed a particular challenge. The integration of all system components required solutions that minimise the energy consumption as well as the space needed for hardware and batteries. To achieve this, low-power components and design energy management strategies were applied to enable long measurement periods. In addition, the system must be able to work reliably under different laboratory conditions and, for example, be able to transmit from metal incubators with low energy consumption.

Contributions of our life-science partners

Our partner scienova GmbH was responsible for the selection of the sensors, the experimental setup and the data evaluation. The Fraunhofer Institute for Cell Therapy and Immunology IZI investigated biological reactions to ensure that sensors and electronics do not alter the reactions thanks to biocompatible materials, thus validated the biological compatibility of the system and studied the systems applicability in protein synthesis and cell culture.