DOTS is coming to Cell Culture! January 2025 - Subscribe to our Newsletter for Updates

The DOTS Platform

DOTS combines sensors and actuators with a powerful software to create bioreactor-like shake flasks with actionable insights into your bioprocess when and where it matters most. 

1 Sensor Pills

Sensor Pills are the next generation of chemosensors. Each pill contains a chemosensor for a critical process parameter that then can be read out non-invasively by the Multiparameter Sensor. Currently we offer Dissolved Oxygen (DO) Sensor Pills for real-time DO monitoring in shake flasks.

Learn More: DO Sensor Pills

2 Multiparameter Sensor (MPS)

The Multiparameter Sensor (MPS) enables the optical and non-invasive monitoring of various process parameters. Currently, the MPS can be used to read out DO Sensor pills and for non-invasive fluorescence and biomass monitoring, utilizing backscattered light detection.

Learn More: MPS

3 Liquid Injection System (LIS)

sbi’s Liquid Injection System (LIS) facilitates the automated feeding of liquids into shake flask cultures. LIS enables bioreactor-like options in shake flasks: Fed-batch, DO-based feeding, biomass-based feeding, automated promotor induction, and more.

Learn More: LIS

4 DOTS Software

DOTS Software is your tool for easy handling of sensors and actuators, enabling real-time visualization and analysis of multiple parameters in parallel for optimal bioprocess understanding and control.

Learn More: DOTS Software

Application Data & Results

Explore applications in real-world situations. Looking for something specific? Contact us to see data for your organism and application.

biomass-dissolved-oxygen-eGFP-E.coli
Escherichia coli (E. coli), 200 rpm/25 mm, 10 % filling volume, 250 ml flask, 37°C

Monitor Metabolic Events in Real-time

DOTS enables real-time monitoring of multiple parameters. Early IPTG inoculation (marked by the red triangle) is used to induce protein expression, showing that GFP expression is growth-coupled.

DO-based Feeding

Bioreactor-like feedback control for Pichia pastoris cultivations in shake flasks.

With a DOTS-integrated controller, the methanol feed (carried out with the Liquid Injection System) was adjusted to start repeatedly, always when the DO level, monitored by DO Sensor Pills, reached a preset threshold. By using this feature, methanol was always fed as soon as the cells recovered from the previous shot, enabling ideal cell viability, while keeping promotor activity constant. Biomass was monitored additionally, with the Multiparameter Sensor (MPS).

DO-based feeding with 40% methanol
Escherichia coli (E. coli), 200 rpm/25 mm, 10 % filling volume, 250 ml flask, 37°C

Want to see data for your organism or application?

We have tested over 100 microorganisms for more than 50 different applications with our technology.

Speak With An Expert

DOTS: The New Status Quo

Current bioprocessing technologies are too complex, so we made it simple. DOTS brings advanced sensor and control options, simple handling, and lower costs than similar fermentation platforms. 

technology-table-bioreactor-microtitre-shake-flask-dots

 

The Benefits of Shake Flasks

Already found in most lab spaces, many experiments rely heavily on the usage of shake flasks. Compared to bioreactors, shake flasks are a low-cost, easy-to-use option for use in a small-scale lab setting.

SAVE-MONEY
Save Money

Shakes flasks are inexpensive to buy and maintain.

SAVE-TIME
Speed Up Process Development

Faster setup of experiments frees up time for other things in your day.

EASY-TO-USE
Easy To Use
Shake flasks require little to no technical knowledge compared to more advanced equipment.
SCALE-UP
Increase Throughput

More conditions can be tested in parallel, giving you more insight into your process needs.

REDUCE-FOOTPRINT
Reduce Footprint

Easy to integrate into existing laboratory infrastructure.

save-resources-150x150
Save Resources

Working in smaller volumes means using less resources, such as media and nutrients.

What Our Customers Are Saying

"With the DOTS platform I can combine sensors and actuators in a simple way to perform completely new applications like biomass-based feeding in shake flasks. My shake flasks can now operate similar to small-scale bioreactors, keeping the ease and cost-effectiveness of flasks but adding the sensor and control options of bioreactors. This is truly revolutionary for me and my experiments."

-Christoph Kutzner (Badische Peptide & Proteine, Heidelberg)

Shake Flask Applications

  • Biomass Monitoring
  • Biomass-Based Feeding
  • Liquid Feeding
  • Monitor Environmental Data
biomass-monitoring
Online biomass monitoring via backscattered light readings and in multiple, parallel experiments. 

 

LIS-CGQ-biomass-feeding-shake-flasks-1-1
Use the interconnectivity of sensors and actuators (LIS) within the DOTS Software to enable feedback controlled feeding in your shake flask experiments. 

 

biomass-based-feeding-sq
The Liquid Injection System (LIS) enables automated and non-invasive feeding in shake flasks. 

 

shake-flasks-shaker-preculture
DOTS sensors monitor environmental parameters in addition to their sample-centric measurements avoiding the need of additional sensors.

 

Biomass Monitoring
biomass-monitoring
Online biomass monitoring via backscattered light readings and in multiple, parallel experiments. 

 

Biomass-Based Feeding
LIS-CGQ-biomass-feeding-shake-flasks-1-1
Use the interconnectivity of sensors and actuators (LIS) within the DOTS Software to enable feedback controlled feeding in your shake flask experiments. 

 

Liquid Feeding
biomass-based-feeding-sq
The Liquid Injection System (LIS) enables automated and non-invasive feeding in shake flasks. 

 

Monitor Environmental Data
shake-flasks-shaker-preculture
DOTS sensors monitor environmental parameters in addition to their sample-centric measurements avoiding the need of additional sensors.

 

Specifications

DOTS offers the simplest sensor handling in bioprocessing for a broad variety of parameters and applications.

Parameters

  • Biomass & growth rate
  • Dissolved Oxygen (DO)
  • Fluorescence
  • Temperature & shaking speed
  • Time-based & parameter-based feeding

Vessels

  • Shake flasks of all common sizes

 

Applications

  • Strain development, screening, and characterization

  • Bioprocess optimization

  • Media optimization

  • Growth characterization (including toxicity tests, substrate-/product-inhibitions, and oxygen-limitations)

  • Timing of workflows (such as inoculation, induction, sampling, feeding, or harvesting)

  • Bioreactor-like experiments on shake flask level (e.g., automatized induction, biomass-based fed-batch processes)

Resources

Compatibility

DOTS offers the simplest sensor handling in bioprocessing for a broad variety of parameters and applications.

Parameters

  • Biomass & growth rate
  • Dissolved Oxygen (DO)
  • Fluorescence
  • Temperature & shaking speed
  • Time-based & parameter-based feeding

Vessels

  • Shake flasks of all common sizes

 

Applications

  • Strain development, screening, and characterization

  • Bioprocess optimization

  • Media optimization

  • Growth characterization (including toxicity tests, substrate-/product-inhibitions, and oxygen-limitations)

  • Timing of workflows (such as inoculation, induction, sampling, feeding, or harvesting)

  • Bioreactor-like experiments on shake flask level (e.g., automatized induction, biomass-based fed-batch processes)

Downloads

Resources

From Estimation To High-Resolution Growth Curves

Cell Growth Quantifier (CGQ)
Success Growth Graph

Customer Success Stories

image (2)
“Incorporating SBI’s pH and DO flow cells into our system removed the need for manual sampling, saving us time, reducing the risk of contamination, and providing information on how the cells are growing even when we are not in the lab. With availability of this more detailed view of our culture, we can make informed improvements to our cell expansion process.”

-Kitana Manivone Kaiphanliam (Washington State University)
washington_state_university_logo
Learn More