Module for culturing and using metabolisms and/or for maintaining microorganisms
OwnerJorg Gerlachinventor
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Abstract
This invention relates to a module (1) for culturing and using metabolisms for maintaining microorganisms (9), particularly for cells or bacteria, comprising an outer casing (2), at least three independent membrane systems, whereof at least two are constructed as hollow fiber membranes (3) and are located in the inner space (4) of the module (1), and that the hollow fiber membranes (3) form a close packed, space network (5) and microorganisms (9) are located in the cavities of the network (5) and/or adhere to the hollow fiber membranes (3).
Claims10
A module for culturing microorganisms under generally identical medium supply and disposal conditions, said module comprising:
- (a) an outer casing defining an enclosed inner space for retaining microorganisms, said outer casing including a plurality of capillaries formed in said outer casing;
- (b) at least one access aperture formed in said outer casing to provide access to the inner space for introducing microorganisms into the inner space;
- and
- (c) a close packed network positioned in the inner space of said outer casing, said close packed network including a first independent hollow fiber membrane system having an open inlet and closed outlet for inflow and convection of a medium into the inner space, a second independent hollow fiber membrane system having an inlet for inflow of oxygen into the inner space, and a third independent hollow fiber membrane system for having an outlet for outflow of the medium from the inner space, the first, second, and third membrane systems being intersected and superimposed in a three dimensional array such that the microorganisms in the inner space have generally identical medium supply and disposal conditions.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.