Discover stories about the innovations and technology Alicat Scientific is making to help improve the world.
4 methods to control pH in bioreactors, ranked Keeping pH at healthy biological levels is potentially the most powerful tool in upstream bioprocessing to increase product titers. Bioreactions are expensive and run on long timelines, making it critical to maximize each run. Mammalian cells are only viable in environments with pH between 7.1 and 7.4. […]
Shakers, rockers, and stirred tank bioreactors – advantages of each We’ve previously written articles comparing single-use bioreactors to stainless steel or glass multi-use bioreactors. You can read about when to switch to single-use, the advantages of single-use in small-scale bioprocessing, and the environmental impacts of single- and multi-use bioreactors. In this article, we compare the […]
Automating the ancient art of glass blowing Many modern scientific instruments require glass bulb formation as a critical step during their manufacture. The craft of glass blowing dates back to the 1st Century BC, and it became widespread during the growth of the Roman Empire. This discovery enabled a revolution in glass production, shrinking production […]
PVD coatings: Thermal evaporation and sputtering deposition PVD coating techniques use physical processes to deposit thin films on surfaces. These films offer an extremely convenient way to obtain desirable surface characteristics without having to completely change the material of a product. The layers can be as thin as only thousandths of a nanometer and can […]
Fuel cell testing – instrumentation tips and tricks For hydrogen to succeed as a scalable and affordable alternative energy source, technologies must be effectively optimized and tested. Here we discuss ways to improve the efficiency of fuel cell testing setups by optimizing the use of mass flow and pressure instrumentation. Tip 1: Optimize flow control […]
Are flow controllers part of bioreactor cleaning procedures? Before a drug can be approved for patients, all possible side effects must be completely characterized. Unfortunately, things like leaks and back pressure contamination can introduce microorganisms into the cell culture. It is therefore extremely important to tightly regulate bioreactor cleaning procedures to prevent uncontrolled batch contamination […]
Alternating tangential flow filtration Alternating tangential flow filtration (ATF) is a filtration method used in a variety of industrial applications to purify desired particles out of a sample. This technique is an optimized version of tangential flow filtration (TFF), making it useful to first develop an understanding of this original technology. What is tangential flow […]
Waste to hydrogen: Plasma gasification Imagine how convenient it would be to convert waste to hydrogen. This might sound too good to be true, but a number of projects are working to make this a reality. Here we discuss the developing technologies and projects that are enabling waste materials to produce greener than green hydrogen. […]
What is carbon capture and storage? The goal of carbon capture and storage is to reduce carbon emissions. For this to be successful, carbon dioxide must be effectively captured, transported, and stored. There are quite a few methods that can be used to ensure the success of this process, however carbon capture and storage is […]
Hydrogen drones – renewable powered UAVs It is currently impractical to power unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) with battery technology alone, as the battery required to improve flight times would be so large and heavy that it would severely limit cargo capacity and range. A promising alternative power source is hydrogen. Compared to a lithium ion […]