Fig. 2.

Parallel setup of easy-to-use small-scale culture devices to replace extensive laboratory-scale stirred tank bioreactor experiments. a Represents fully equipped laboratory scale stirred tank bioreactors. The culture systems which are commonly used for studying microbial systems (b, c, d or e) are operated in parallel. b Designates the RAMOS device, (c) the BioLector device with (d) depicting the RoboLector device (a combination of a BioLector device with an automated liquid handling system), and (e) the separate shake flasks for offline sampling. As indicated by different colors in b, c and e four experimental variants can be performed in duplicates in parallel. If only small sample volumes (about 1 mL) are required, the separate shake flasks (e) can be replaced by samples automatically taken from a MTP by the RoboLector device (d). The specified time points of sampling in (a), (d) and (e) are just examples (i.e. for E. coli experiments) and can easily be varied. Only samples taken from the first two rows (encoded in red and green color) are illustrated in (a), (d) and (e) for simplicity