Bioreactor including probe for electrical or electromagnetic measurements

Abstract

A bioreactor includes a rigid-walled vessel for containing a biological medium, the vessel having a lid. The bioreactor further includes a probe passing through an aperture in the lid and having a sensing end inside the vessel and a remote end outside the vessel. The sensing end has plural electrodes for immersion in the biological medium, and the remote end is configured for coupling to external devices and transmission thereto of electrical or electromagnetic measurements made by the electrodes. One of the lid and the probe has one or more resiliently deformable mechanisms and the other of the lid and the probe has one or more respective complementary surfaces. The resiliently deformable mechanisms and the complementary surfaces are configured such that, on insertion of the probe through the aperture to assemble the probe to the lid, the one or more resiliently deformable mechanisms are first deformed on sliding against the one or more complementary surfaces and then resile when the probe reaches a predetermined insertion position relative to the lid to secure the probe to the lid. One of the lid and the probe carries a sealing element which seals the probe to the lid when the probe is secured at the predetermined position.