Patent ID: 7485454

Claim:
A system for maintaining and cultivating cells in culture and obtaining a protein resulting from interaction of the cells with oxygen and/or nutrients and/or other components, comprising: a small-scale chemical or biochemical reactor comprising a plastic substrate comprising at least one reaction unit, the reactor comprising an inlet, an outlet, and a fluid pathway connecting the inlet and the outlet, the fluid pathway comprising a chamber having a surface suitable for cell growth and a volume of less than about 1 ml, the chamber being constructed and arranged to maintain and cultivate cells in culture, the chamber further comprising an inlet fluidly connectable to a source of nutrients for the cells having a controlled pH, and an outlet for release of the protein resulting from the interaction involving the cells in the chamber; a membrane defining at least one wall of the fluid pathway; an enclosure positioned proximate the membrane, wherein at least one product of the interaction involving cells in the chamber passes across the membrane into the enclosure; the reactor further comprising a pH sensor.