While initially met with apprehension, single-use bioprocessing equipment is now widely accepted and appreciated in labs throughout the world. While it’s unlikely stainless steel will ever go away completely, more and more people are starting to wonder whether single-use products are the way of the future. Read on to discover the debate over single-use versus reusable bioprocess products.
Materials
When most people think of bioprocessing equipment, they might picture glass or stainless steel products. Single-use products will instead be disposable plastic bags. They are usually pre-sterilized and made of a multilayer plastic film. Each layer serves a different effect: The outer layer provides mechanical stability, the middle layer produces a gas barrier, and the inner layer is sterile.
Sterilization
Pre-sterilization of single-use bags minimizes the risk of cross contamination. As you know, contamination can easily ruin a batch and cause a host of problems. Because bags are already sterile, you don’t need to spend downtime sterilizing like you would with stainless steel vessels.
Energy Savings
It takes a good amount of energy to prepare reusable bioprocess products for their next use. You’ll see an immediate reduction in energy and water use at your facility when you switch to single-use products. In other words, single-use products end up saving you money.
Flexibility
Single-use vessels come in many styles, meaning you can select the best vessel for each process. In contrast, conventional bioreactors typically have a single design, limiting your flexibility.
When you need single-use bioprocess containers, reach out to the team at International Filter Products by emailing, calling, or submitting via our online form! We’re here to help.
Now that you have a sense of the conversation surrounding single-use and reusable bioprocess products, you can see that single-use products come with many benefits that stainless steel can’t hope to reach. Consider using single-use products in your facility to increase simplicity and reduce the time wasted on cleaning.
