Characterization Of Oxygen Mass Transfer Rate (Kla) Using A Statistical Design Of Experiment (Doe) For Bioreactor Scale-up

By Nida Sayed Zubairy, David Kasof, Allison Haskell, Jiangshan Zhou, Dogan Ornek, and Roy Lin

Scale-up based on constant kLa is common practice, but the available correlations and predictive models do not apply universally. Boston Institute of Biotechnology's Process Science and Development group, presenting at Bioprocess International in Boston in September 2023, takes an empirical route instead. Using a response surface design of experiments, the team characterized kLa in 3 L, 7 L, and 50 L bioreactors with the oxygen re-oxygenation method, treating agitation, air flow rate, and volume as inputs. The results show which factors and interactions reach statistical significance at each scale, and how the resulting equations compare across vessels.

Explore the experimental design, surface profilers, and results to see how kLa characterization can inform scale-up and tech transfer.