A study of oxygen transfer in shake flasks using a non‐invasive oxygen sensor

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Abstract
We describe a study of oxygen transfer in shake flasks using a non‐invasive optical sensor. This study investigates the effect of different plugs, presence of baffles, and the type of media on the dissolved oxygen profiles during Escherichia coli fermentation. We measured the volumetric mass transfer coefficient (kLa) under various conditions and also the resistances of the various plugs. Finally, we compared shake flask kLa with that from a stirred tank fermentor. By matching kLa's we were able to obtain similar growth and recombinant protein product formation kinetics in both a fermentor and a shake flask. These results provide a quantitative comparison of fermentations in a shake flask vs. a bench‐scale fermentor and should be valuable in guiding scale‐up efforts. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Biotechnol Bioeng 84: 351–358, 2003.