Silicon microbial bioreactor arrays

The authors present a multi-sensor, multi-well bioreactor platform for high-throughput screening of microbial cultures. The platform is designed to interface directly with industry standard 96-well plates. Each well contains an independently addressable microfabricated sensor and actuator suite that provides closed-loop control over temperature, generates oxygen electrochemically and provides cell density data. Polysilicon, silicon nitride and metal films are deposited and patterned onto silicon wafers using standard silicon processing techniques. Results are presented for an 8-well cell density vs. temperature experiment. Additionally, the authors investigate the use of electrolysis as a means to generate oxygen for bacterial cultures.