Optical instrumentation for bioprocess monitoring

In this chapter the optical sensors for oxygen, pH, carbondioxide and optical density (OD) which are essential for bioprocess monitoring are introduced, their measurement principles are explained and their realization and applications are shown. In addition sensors for ethanol and GFP are presented. With the exception of the optical density sensor all others employ certain fluorophores that are sensitive to the designated parameter. These fluorophores along with their optical properties, the sensing mechanisms and their mathematical formulations are described. An important part of this chapter covers the development of the optoelectronic hardware for low cost systems that are able to measure the fluorescence lifetime and fluorescence intensity ratio. The employment of these probes in the bioprocess monitoring is demonstrated in different fermentation examples.