Team Members
Duncan Niven, Ryan Overholt, Ariana Aguilar, Darian Visosevic, Dominic Maita, Sydney Voorberg, Aidan Amstutz, Joseph Rios
Abstract
The Curigator was designed in the pursuit of a virtually self-sustaining, semi-autonomous bioreactor capable of cell culturing and monitoring with the goal of decreasing overall costs by simplifying the liquid transfer to ultimately improve overall efficiency. The Curigator can accommodate up to six individual shakers, dependent on the needs of the experiment and available funds. Each shaker can perform three independent shake patterns at a range of speeds and allow for direct OD and FI measurements at any time. To hold the vessels, the shakers make use of universal well plate holders as well as 15 mL and 50 mL conical tube stands that allow for easy interchange between experiments. Additionally, the Curigator makes use of flex caps that allow for the automated transfer of fluids without requiring the removal of conical tube lids and well plate caps, allowing for efficient and easy transfer of cultures between individual conical tubes and wells, while preventing the creation of aerosols cross contamination between vessels. Disposable pipette tips further decrease the chance of cross contamination between vessels. The system makes use of a heating and cooling system that prevents leakage and humidity from entering the system, while still allowing the introduction of multiple different gases. A spacious front opening allows for easy user access, but still seals tightly to ensure a virtually leakproof environment. With the Curigator, experimentation requiring cell culture may be fully automated and thus require fewer user and observation hours.