Combined filter

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9963668-B2
Application number	US-201314425330-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jul 16, 2013
Priority date	Sep 12, 2012
Publication date	May 8, 2018
Grant date	May 8, 2018

Abstract

The invention relates to a device for culturing cells in a bioreactor, the waste-air line of which leading out of the reactor interior comprises a waste-air filter having a sterile-filtration microfilter membrane, wherein at least one prefilter having a hydrophobic filter material is placed upstream of the waste-air filter toward the reactor interior.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A device for culturing cells in a bioreactor, comprising:
a waste-air line leading up and out of a reactor interior of the bioreactor and to a location outside the bioreactor;
a waste-air filter in the waste-air line and having a sterile-filtration microfilter membrane; and
at least one prefilter between the waste-air filter and the reactor interior so that the prefilter is at a position in the waste-air line upstream of the waste-air filter with respect to a flow direction of waste air from the reactor interior of the bioreactor, the prefilter having a hydrophobic filter material formed from glass fiber filter materials or melt-blown fiber filter materials composed of PE, PP, PET, PESU, PVDx or PMP, and the filter material of the prefilter has a mean pore size of greater than 0.1 μm and smaller than 100 μm.

2. The device of claim 1 , wherein
the prefilter and the waste-air filter form a joint combination filter.

3. The device of claim 2 , wherein
the filter material of the prefilter rests directly on the microfilter membrane to be protected of the waste-air filter.

4. The device of claim 1 , wherein
the filter material of the prefilter is a glass fiber filter.

5. The device of claim 1 , wherein
the filter material of the prefilter has a mean pore size of greater than 3 μm and smaller than 30 μm.

6. The device of claim 5 , wherein
the filter material of the prefilter has a mean pore size of from 10 to 15 μm.

7. The device of claim 1 , wherein
the filter material of the prefilter has a thickness of from 50 to 250 μm.

8. The device of claim 1 , wherein
the waste-air filter has a hydrophobic microfilter membrane composed of PVDF, ePTFE, PP or PE.

9. The device of claim 1 , wherein
the waste-air filter has a hydrophobic microfilter membrane.

10. The device of claim 1 , wherein
the waste-air filter has a hydrophobic microfilter membrane having a pore size of greater than 0.1 μm.

11. The device of claim 1 , wherein the waste-air filter and the prefilter are disposed in a joint filter housing with the waste-air filter and the prefilter being aligned with one another along an axis of the waste-air line.

12. The device of claim 1 wherein the waste-air filter is arranged in a waste-air filter housing, and the prefilter is in a prefilter housing spaced from the waste-air filter housing.

13. The device of claim 1 wherein the prefilter is disposed relative to the bioreactor to permit a gravitational flow of condensate from the prefilter to the reactor interior of the bioreactor.

Assignees

• Sartorius Stedim Biotech Gmbh

Inventors

• Reif Oscar-Werner
• Greller Gerhard
• Nikoloudis Paschalis
• Lausch Ralf
• Husemann Ute
• Loewe Thomas
• Friese Thomas
• Dreher Thomas

Classifications

• C12M29/20

  Degassing; Venting; Bubble traps (means for collection or storage of gas C12M23/36; gas collection apparatus for laboratory use B01L5/02) · CPC title

• C12M29/04 Primary

  Filters; Permeable or porous membranes or plates, e.g. dialysis · CPC title

• B01D53/22

  by diffusion (manufacturing semi-permeable membranes B01D67/00; form, structure or properties of semi-permeable membranes B01D69/00; material for semi-permeable membranes B01D71/00) · CPC title

• B01D2325/38

  Hydrophobic membranes · CPC title

• C12M37/02

  Filters · CPC title