Wave Biotech LLC

May 22, 2005
Disposable Mixer Simplifies Bioprocessing
Wave Biotech (Bridgewater, N.J.) and ILC Dover (Frederica, Del.) recently combined their expertise to create the patent-pending FlexMixer. Displayed at Interphex, the second-generation mixing device caused quite a stir.The FlexMixer – the first single-use mixing bag that can be used to mix materials of any viscosity or density difference – can be scaled to over 10,000 liters and does not have any internal impeller or actuator. An integral perforated diaphragm in the mixing bag is moved up and down by a simple low-cost mechanism to provide reliable, efficient and complete mixing. Applications are in the pharmaceutical, biotech, food, chemical and other processing industries.Vijay Singh, the president of Wave Biotech, believes that this new mixing technology will establish disposable mixers as the preferred alternative to traditional mixing tanks, similar to the impact the Wave Bioreactor has had in cell culture operations. Compared to traditional mixing systems, FlexMixer integrates materials more completely and efficiently and eliminates the need for cleaning and/or sterilization between batches, saving companies valuable time and money.