Virtual Bioreactor

Final bioreactor system model
Final bioreactor system model, including the bioreactor, control unit, ancillary equipment, and utility pipes, in the video game & VR

 

Biomanufacturing Training and Education Center (BTEC) at North Carolina State University (NC State) provides unique hands-on academic education and professional training on the biomanufacturing. The Upstream Biomanufacturing Laboratory is an undergraduate/graduate-level cross-disciplinary biomanufacturing laboratory course offered by the Department of Food, Bioprocessing and Nutrition Sciences (cross-listed at BTEC) to students from diverse disciplines at NC State. It is an introduction to current good manufacturing practice (cGMP) used by biomanufacturing industries. Students obtain practical experience on key microbiological techniques and processes and study bioreactor design and operation using 30 liters stainless steel bioreactors. The hand-on lab modules include bioreactor orientation, scale-up design, cleaning, media preparation, sterilization, and fermentation (batch and fed-batch growth) of a recombinant E. coli for the production of green-fluorescent protein (GFP). The virtual lab currently provides exercises with two lab modules: Bioreactor Orientation and Steam-in-place (SIP) Operation. More lab modules may be available in the future. 

Learning Objectives

After completing this VR training, students will be able to:

  • Identify the bioreactor system components
  • Identify the components of the gas supply system for a bioreactor
  • Draw a diagram of piping, valves, and instrumentation for the jacket temperature control system.
  • Distinguish different types of steam traps and valves.
  • Execute the steam-in-place (SIP) procedures without mistakes
  • Evaluate whether a SIP procedure fails or pass.

Instructions

This website includes both the video game version and the virtual reality (VR) versions of a cGMP 30 L stainless steel bioreactor. You can practice the following lab modules in the virtual environment pre-lab and post-lab. The following video gives a brief idea of the exercises in virtual labs. 

 

Technical requirement:

For video game: Game supported computer with Windows as the operation system. 

For VR: HTC Vive Focus Plus all-in-one headset (available in BTEC) or HTC Vive with PC (available onsite or borrow in Hunt Library and D. H. Hill Library, https://www.lib.ncsu.edu/do/virtual-reality)

 

Video game: Visit the website, following the instructions in the game to play. 

Link 1

Link 2

The Bioreactor Orientation game
The Bioreactor Orientation game: a sample scene when the pumps are selected in the game
The SIP Operation game in Unity
The SIP Operation game in Unity: a sample scene of the manual valves highlighted for interactions (Valves that need to take actions (close or open) on are highlighted in red and changed to green color once correct actions are completed.)
The SIP Operation game in Unity: a sample screen of the control panel at the beginning of the SIP procedure
The SIP Operation game in Unity: a sample screen of the control panel at the beginning of the SIP procedure

Bioreactor lab in virtual reality (VR): Download and install the file to HTC Vive Focus Plus all-in-one headset (available in BTEC) or the PC for HTC Vive headset (available in Hunt Library and D. H. Hill Library, https://www.lib.ncsu.edu/do/virtual-reality)

The bioreactor system in virtual reality
The bioreactor system in virtual reality