Institut Pasteur

Robert A Longin

Jacques Bellalou

Emmanuel Frachon

Thanh Dung Luu

Laurent Gaillon

Jean P Aubert

Alain Meier

Francis Gasser

An automated and robotized platform includes a battery of miniature reactors to contain cell cultures. The platform includes an external sensor to measure an optical property of each cell culture contained in each miniature reactor. The platform also includes a mobile sensor-holder to receive the external sensor. The sensor-holder includes a sensor driving element to move the external sensor from one miniature reactor to another and to measure in real time the at least one optical property. The platform further includes a controlling and processing element to receive real time measurements of the optical property from the external sensor and to provide real time control of a movement of the mobile sensor-holder.

Robotized platform for cell cultures in miniature reactor batteries, equipped with a system for real time measurement of cellular turbidity or other optical properties

The invention concerns an apparatus and a method for measuring at least one optical characteristic, which can include in particular turbidity (T), absorbance (A) and fluorescence (F), of a medium ( ), and a micro-bioreactor, a connector and associated male and female parts. The apparatus comprises a light source ( ) provided with means for controlling ( ) the intensity of the beam transmitted ( ) by the source, a photodetector ( ) for measuring the intensity of the beam reflected ( ) by the medium, a feedback regulating system ( ) operating on the control means such that the measured intensity of the reflected beam is equal to a predetermined nominal intensity, and means for reading the transmitted beam intensity, said intensity representing the medium optical characteristic(s). The apparatus also comprises means for adjusting the nominal intensity, such that the transmitted beam stabilised intensity is within a predetermined range. The invention is applicable to micro-bioreactors.

Apparatus and method for measuring optical properties by feedback control

The invention relates to nutritious materials containing proteins wherein said proteins are originated from osmosensitive microorganisms, i.e. microorganisms the cell walls of which are spontaneously broken when brought into contact with a medium of low osmotic pressure.

Proteins containing nutritious materials and food compositions

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Paris, France

Robert A Longin