Bioreactor Sizing Calculator

Determine bioreactor working volume from production targets, cell density, and specific productivity for CHO, HEK293, and other cell lines.

Target production (g)

Cell density (×10⁶/mL)

Specific productivity (pg/cell/day)

Run duration (days)

Harvest efficiency (%)

Working volume ratio

Tab to move between fields

Working volume (L)

29.8

Total vessel volume (L)42.5

Nearest standard size (L)50

Vol. productivity (g/L/day)0.3

Product per L per run (g)3.36

Runs per year19

Annual capacity (kg)1.9

How to Use This Calculator

Enter your target production mass in grams per batch.
Set cell density (×10⁶/mL), specific productivity (pg/cell/day), and run duration (days).
Adjust harvest efficiency (%) and working volume ratio for your system.
Review Working Volume (L), Total Vessel Volume (L), and Nearest Standard Size (L).
Check Annual Capacity (kg) to confirm the bioreactor meets your annual manufacturing targets.

How the result changes with Cell density (×10⁶/mL)

Target production (g): Target product mass per batch in grams.
Cell density (×10⁶/mL): Peak viable cell density in millions per mL. CHO typical: 5-20 × 10⁶.
Specific productivity (pg/cell/day): Cell-specific productivity (qP) in picograms per cell per day. mAb typical: 20-50.
Run duration (days): Fed-batch culture duration in days. Typical: 12-16 days.
Harvest efficiency (%): Product recovery efficiency during harvest/clarification.
Working volume ratio: Working volume as fraction of total vessel volume (typically 0.65-0.80).

Working volume (L): Required bioreactor working volume in liters.
Total vessel volume (L): Total bioreactor vessel volume accounting for headspace.
Nearest standard size (L): Nearest standard commercial bioreactor size.
Vol. productivity (g/L/day): Volumetric productivity based on cell density and qP.
Product per L per run (g): Grams of product per liter of culture per run.
Runs per year: Maximum runs per year with 5-day turnaround.
Annual capacity (kg): Estimated annual production capacity in kilograms.

Identify Input Parameters
4 parameters
Target production (g) = 100, Cell density (×10⁶/mL) = 10, Specific productivity (pg/cell/day) = 30, Run duration (days) = 14 = 6 input(s) provided
Calculate Working volume
Working volume = targetMassG / productPerLiterPerRun
29.8 = 29.8
Calculate Total vessel volume
Total vessel volume = workingVolumeL / workingVolumeRatio
42.5 = 42.5
Calculate Nearest standard size
50 = 50