iCinac L.A.B. Fermentation Monitor Series
Lactic Acid Bacteria Fermentation Kinetics Monitoring and Reactor Control
The main function of Lactic Acid Bacteria (L.A.B.) is to produce Lactic Acid, which is the acidification process of foodstuffs. The main application of L.A.B. is as starter cultures in the food industry with an enormous variety of fermented products – dairy, meat, fish, fruit, vegetables and cereal products.
The AMS Alliance iCinac Series is heavily used by ferment and starter culture manufacturers, both for product quality control and development of new cultures for the dairy industry. Monitoring the behavior of these starters allows you to optimize these difficult processes, ensuring consistent L.A.B. activity and consistent quality of the end product.
The iCinac Series is a unique solution for kinetic analysis and monitoring for fermentation L.A.B. reactors, and as a fermentation multi-reactor control unit. It is widely used for monitoring of ferments in starter, functional, bio-protective and probiotic cultures. When iCinac is equipped with its external control module (optional), it can control heating baths, peristatic pumps, circulators, and becomes a complete L.A.B. fermentation multi-position bioreactor platform.
See how the iCinac is used within the scientific community:
Google Scholar: https://scholar.google.com/scholar?hl=en&as_sdt=0%2C5&q=icinac+alliance&btnG=
National Center for Biotechnology Information: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/?term=icinac
Features
- Unique solution designed for acidification activity of L.A.B.: simultaneous monitoring of pH, temperature, and Oxidation Reduction Potential (ORP).
- Uses ISM® protocol digital electrodes (pH/Temp, pH/ORP/Temp)
- Scalable – up to 32 channels with the wired version, and 16 channels with wireless
- Meets ISO 26323|IDF 213, the industry standard for determining dairy cultures’ acidification activity
- Each electrode or channel is independently monitored while providing full control and insight into each experiment
- Easy-to-use software – results in real-time automatic configuration and detection of connected modules
Benefits
- Ensures inter-batch kinetics consistency in compliance with ISO standards
- Reduces product development timelines because of the reactor-scale, efficient design and your choice of ferment
- Allows you to adapt the configuration to your needs (current and future)
- Wired or wireless version (or combined); select the number of channels, the number of electrodes, and subsequently add or remove electrodes from the systems
- Improves quality control, R&D, product development and process optimization
Applications
- Dairy
- Fermented foods (L.A.B.)
- Probiotics
- Ferment and bacterial culture production
The iCinac is also a useful tool in R&D, product and process development and quality control to:
- Find the most efficient starter for manufacturing needs
- Check batch consistency of the starter
- Determine the acid forming characteristics specific to the phylum studied
- Provide the insight needed for precise development, test, and process control of fermentation ingredients
- Define and control the appropriate inocula by characterizing the acid formation of a specific phylum and knowing the specific test parameters’ influence
Product Lineup
iCinac Wired Version
- 16 or 32 measurement channels
- 5 or 10m BNC cables to connect each probe
- Integrated touch screen software
- Optional output assembly and accessories to control external equipment or conditions (Bioreactor controller)
iCinac Wireless
- Up to 60 meter range for indoor use without cables
- Quick startup, ready for measurement with less than one minute warm up time
- Scalable from 1 to 16 channels per receiver
- Lithium-ion rechargeable batteries
How it Works
Lactic Acid Bacteria
Lactic Acid Bacteria (L.A.B.)’s main function is to produce Lactic Acid. Additionally, L.A.B. contributes to the flavor, texture, and nutritional value of fermented foods through production of aroma components. L.A.B. is also used as adjunct cultures, production or degradation of exopolysaccharides, lipids and proteins, production of nutritional components such as vitamins, and used as functional cultures. L.A.B. promotes therapeutic effects and is used for probiotics. In addition, L.A.B. contributes to the inhibition of spoilage and pathogenic microorganisms and thus, is used as bio-protective cultures.
iCinac Operation
The iCinac, when used as a L.A.B. activity and kinetics monitoring system, works by measuring pH and temperature in each reactor cell and this is represented as a pH vs. time, Temperature vs. Time, and ORP vs. Time series of graphs.
Users can then:
- Compare the curve (kinetics) to their defined Gold Standard or specific kinetics to see if the tested batch behaves as expected – e.g. as a quality control step, in compliance with ISO26323,
- Analyze new ferment strains kinetics and behavior under specific conditions,
- Develop inter comparison studies between batches, strains, external conditions, and more.
The iCinac, when used as a Fermentation L.A.B. bioreactor controller, not only monitors and records pH, Temperature and ORP (optional) in each reactor, but it also controls external systems through digital and analog outputs, such as peristaltic pumps, heating circulators, and others based on time and pH values. This allows the user to have a reactor that follows not only specific temperature-based programs, but also have automated adjustment of pH values as per the pre-programmed pH kinetics. It ensures specific kinetics and behaviors are followed within each reactor, hence converting iCinac into a laboratory and pilot scale multi-bioreactor platform with complete monitoring, recording and control of external systems.
A Simple Test, Without Much Preparation
Experiments can be easily set up for iCinac wired:
- Turn on the iCinac
- Connect all required cables and electrodes
- Perform the calibration of all electrodes (pH calibration should be run before each experiment as per the defined protocol)
- Insert the electrode in the dedicated bioreactor and adjust the bioreactor conditions
- Start the iCinac experiment and initiate to obtain real-time data via the built-in PC
- Analyze your data at the end of the experiment
System Components
Software
Specifications
Resources
