A new multinozzle encapsulation/immobilisation system to produce uniform beads of alginate

A new multinozzle system with 13 nozzles for the encapsulation and immobilisation of micro-organisms, enzymes or cells is presented. Based on the laminar jet break-up, monodisperse beads of calcium alginate are produced under sterile and reproducible conditions in the range of 0.2-1 mm. An in situ cleaning of the nozzles is implemented in order to guarantee several batch process cycles and a productivity of up to 5000 mi h(-1). Beads were analysed and showing that the relative difference of the mean diameter of the different nozzles was less than 0.3% and the coefficient of variance (CV) of the beads were from 1.94 to 2.93 mu m which means that there are less than 4% of error droplets with double volume produced in the collective. This system has potential applications in the fields of food technology, pharmaceuticals, biotechnology and medicine. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.