• BioPAT® Viamass provides high resolution real-time viable capacitance-based biomass measurement directly in the cell culture, enabling direct inline monitoring of cell growth and advanced, precise analysis
• Seamless scalability with one biomass monitoring method from small-scale Ambr® experiments through to large-scale single-use Biostat STR® or Biostat® RM runs
• The BioPAT® Viamass single-use sensor integrated with Ambr® 250 High Throughput vessels is available now through Sartorius and its global distribution network

Aber Instruments and Sartorius Stedim Biotech announced the introduction of the BioPAT® Viamass single-use biomass sensor now fully integrated into Ambr® 250 High Throughput single-use bioreactor vessels. This expansion marks a significant milestone in scaling advanced Process Analytical Technology (PAT) across the Sartorius bioreactor portfolio, including both Biostat STR® Generation 3 and Biostat® RM systems.

Since partnering in 2013, Aber’s capacitance based biomass probe technology has been adapted into a disposable sensor format, achieving parity in performance with the original reusable format and built to be gamma-sterilizable, USP Class VI compliant, and compatible with Sartorius Flexsafe® formats.

Ambr® 250 High Throughput supports at-line integration of a cell counter, metabolite analyser and BioPAT® Spectro Raman analysis, streamlining cell and media analysis based on automated bioreactor sampling. Now, the addition of BioPAT® Viamass provides high resolution real-time viable biomass measurement directly in the cell culture, enabling direct inline monitoring of cell growth and advanced, precise analysis. 

This new single-use Viamass solution seamlessly aligns with Sartorius Stedim Biotech's Biostat STR® Generation 3 and Biostat® RM systems:

• Biostat STR® Generation 3 systems (50 L – 2,000 L) already support BioPAT® Viamass for online biomass monitoring, complementing optical pH, DO, BioPAT® Trace sensors and advanced PAT analytics via Biobrain® process automation.
• Biostat® RM (wave-mixed, 1 L – 200 L) similarly supports integrated BioPAT® Viamass combined with other single-use sensors for seed-train scale-out and intensified processes.

Now, the same sensor technology and interfaces from Ambr® 250 High Throughput to Biostat STR® and RM ensure consistent measurement methodology across process development, seed-train intensification, and commercial manufacture.

Matthew Lee, CEO of Aber Instruments, added: “The extension of BioPAT® Viamass into Ambr® 250 High Throughput vessels opens inline biomass monitoring early in development. It bridges the process-scale gap and underpins high throughput PAT as a scalable asset.”

Dr. Franziska Jenner, Head of Product Management, Process Development Bioreactors, Sartorius Stedim Biotech, said: “Integrating the disposable BioPAT® Viamass sensor into Ambr® and our larger Biostat STR® and Biostat® RM systems enables true end-to-end PAT continuity. We are thrilled to deliver robust, scalable biomass monitoring to our customers.”