--- title: pDS scale-down inserts and bioreactor CFD | p4b description: 3D-printed pDS inserts bring production-scale mixing into your lab bioreactor. Test how your process reacts to scale before it leaves the lab. image: https://www.p4b.io/hubfs/raw_assets/public/p4b/images/og-default.png --- [![p4b](https://www.p4b.io/hubfs/raw_assets/public/p4b/images/p4b-logo-white.svg) ![p4b](https://www.p4b.io/hubfs/raw_assets/public/p4b/images/p4b-logo-navy.svg)](https://www.p4b.io/?hsLang=en) Products [**pDS inserts**Large-scale conditions in your lab bioreactor](https://www.p4b.io/pds?hsLang=en) [**Advanced CFD**Gradients, lifelines and cell experiences](https://www.p4b.io/cfd?hsLang=en) [**DREAM-bio**Find the best geometry for your bioreactor](https://www.p4b.io/dream-bio?hsLang=en) [**Ambr 250 vs. 2,000 L**Interactive CFD comparison of the mixing](https://www.p4b.io/compare?hsLang=en) [Case studies](https://www.p4b.io/case-studies?hsLang=en) [Insights](https://www.p4b.io/insights?hsLang=en) [Events](https://www.p4b.io/events?hsLang=en) [About](https://www.p4b.io/about?hsLang=en) [Contact](https://www.p4b.io/contact?hsLang=en) [Request a quote](https://www.p4b.io/contact#quote) Bioprocess scale-down technology # Scale reliably. Develop faster. 3D-printed pDS inserts bring the hydrodynamics of a production reactor into your lab bioreactor - scale-up becomes predictable. [Request a quote](https://www.p4b.io/contact#quote)[See inside an insert](https://www.p4b.io#inside) **ISO 13485**certified inserts **\< 8 weeks**lead time for custom inserts **Plug & play**for your lab bioreactors ![Wireframe of a 3D-printed pDS bioreactor insert](https://www.p4b.io/hubfs/website/pds-wireframe-white.webp) Patented pDS technology **2,000 L** behaviour in 250 mL Ambr 250 · Labfors · Minifors · DASGIP Trusted partners ![M-Star CFD](https://www.p4b.io/hubfs/website/logos/mstar.png)![Max Planck Institute for Dynamics of Complex Technical Systems Magdeburg](https://www.p4b.io/hubfs/website/logos/mpi.png)![Corden BioChem](https://www.p4b.io/hubfs/website/logos/corden.png)![TU Wien](https://www.p4b.io/hubfs/website/logos/tuwien.png)![University of Strathclyde Glasgow](https://www.p4b.io/hubfs/website/logos/strathclyde.png)![CMAC](https://www.p4b.io/hubfs/website/logos/cmac.png)![IBVT University of Stuttgart](https://www.p4b.io/hubfs/website/logos/ibvt.png)![bespark\*bio](https://www.p4b.io/hubfs/website/logos/bespark.png) The problem ## Processes fail during scale-up In a 250 mL lab vessel, a feed pulse is mixed within a few seconds. In a 2,000 L or 15,000 L tank it takes ten times as long or more - long enough for cells to cycle through zones with high glucose concentrations, too little oxygen or zones of pH extremes. Cells respond to these fluctuations: lactate levels rise, growth is delayed, and product titer and quality change. A well-mixed lab reactor cannot reveal these effects, so a process that appeared robust during development may encounter its first gradients in the production tank. The conventional approach relies on additional pilot-scale experiments, which are time-consuming, costly, and typically evaluate one condition at a time. We bring these investigations back to the bench, enabling faster, more cost-effective evaluation. 2 L vs. 15,000 L (CFD): glucose and dissolved oxygen. The large tank develops depleted zones the lab never sees. [Explore gradients →](https://www.p4b.io/cfd#explorer) The Solution ## Bring production scale into the lab If small reactors mix too fast, slow them down. A 3D-printed insert slows mixing in your standard laboratory vessel to reflect production-scale conditions while preserving your existing setup - impeller, sensors, and headplate. Example structure from a design run - not a final pDS product. ![3D-printed pDS inserts next to Ambr 250 vessels](https://www.p4b.io/hubfs/website/pds-family.webp) Loading 3D model… Generated structure - selected by CFD Original stirrer & headplate Standard Ambr 250 modular vessel Assembled Exploded Cross-section Drag to rotate **~4 s → ~40 s**until the bulk of the liquid in an Ambr 250 is mixed - without and with insert. A 2,000 L single use reactor ~40 s (CFD) The structure divides the vessel into zones with slower liquid exchange, while the impeller, probes, and control strategy remain unchanged. Three inserts - S, M, and L - provide 95% mixing times ranging from approximately 18 to 70 seconds, allowing one set of parallel Ambr 250 runs to represent several production scales at once. [See the CFD comparison →](https://www.p4b.io/compare?hsLang=en) Which scales would you test first? [Configure a set](https://www.p4b.io#configure) Demonstrated in practice ## Case studies We put pDS to the test where scale effects matter: CHO antibody production, viral vaccine production, and new bioreactor design. Three projects with industry and research partners, with findings published or forthcoming. 3× cell-specific lactate production - large-scale effect reproduced in the lab mAb production · CHO ### Replicating scaling effects for NISTCHO Four parallel runs: glass reference, material control and two pDS inserts (120 s / 230 s mixing time). pDS reproduced delayed growth, reduced titer and increased lactate - linked to O2 gradients at scale. with bespark\*bio[Read the case →](https://www.p4b.io/case-studies#cho) 8.2× titer recovered in a 200 L scale mimic using viral sensitizers Vaccine · duck cells ### Solving scale-up issues in small scale YF17D-vectored Zika vaccine production lost ~90% yield in a 200 L mimic. Process development in pDS reactors at lab scale recovered titers at production-scale. with Max-Planck Institute[Read the case →](https://www.p4b.io/case-studies#vaccine) +75% kLa improvement over the base case DREAM-bio · Minifors ### Optimizing stirrer placement Over 200 geometric variations of stirrer number, position and type simulated - validated kLa prediction even for small volumes, high stirring speeds and high gassing rates. with TU Wien[Read the case →](https://www.p4b.io/case-studies#minifors) Encountering scale effects you cannot reproduce in the lab? [Talk to us about your process](https://www.p4b.io/contact#quote) ![pDS inserts next to Ambr 250 vessels](https://www.p4b.io/hubfs/website/pds-family.webp) White paper · CHO demonstration case ## Large-scale conditions in a 1 L lab bioreactor How a reactor designed using evolutionary AI recreates gradients found at the 10,000 L scale in a 1 L vessel and how they affect lactate levels and mAb titer in a CHO process. 4 pages, open access. [Download the white paper](https://share-eu1.hsforms.com/1Iz-e9dcFQYax4uBfRa8fiw2dmt7m) Get started ## Three ways to start Most teams start with an insert set for the reactor they already use. If you first need to understand what happens in your production tank, start with CFD. ### [![3D-printed pDS inserts next to Ambr 250 vessels](https://www.p4b.io/hubfs/website/pds-family.webp) Hardware · pDS inserts Run your process at production-scale mixing Off-the-shelf for the Ambr 250, custom-made for any system that can be opened - available as a DoE set or a single insert tailored to your target conditions.](https://www.p4b.io/pds#configure) ### [![CFD Lifelines in a stirred bioreactor](https://www.p4b.io/hubfs/website/cfd-streamlines.webp) Simulation · Advanced CFD See what your cells experience at scale Gradients, mixing time distribution and cell lifelines for your lab, pilot or production reactor.](https://www.p4b.io/cfd?hsLang=en) ### [Design · DREAM-bio Find the best geometry for your bioreactor The whole design space simulated - stirrers, baffles, vessel and more - compared using the same metrics.](https://www.p4b.io/dream-bio?hsLang=en) Get in touch ## Accelerate your process development. Let’s discuss how p4b can help your team accelerate process development and bring your product to market faster. [Request a quote](https://www.p4b.io/contact#quote)[Book a 30-min call](https://www.p4b.io/contact#meeting) ![Lena Achleitner](https://www.p4b.io/hs-fs/hubfs/website/team/lena-avatar.webp?width=84&height=84&name=lena-avatar.webp) **Lena Achleitner**Senior Bioprocess Engineer, Key Account Manager[lena.achleitner@p4b.io](mailto:lena.achleitner@p4b.io) ### Get new insights by email CFD results, case studies and new insert systems when we publish them. Unsubscribe any time. ![p4b](https://www.p4b.io/hubfs/raw_assets/public/p4b/images/p4b-logo-white.svg) Scale reliably. Develop faster. Digital and 3D-printed technologies for bioprocessing. [Follow us on LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/company/p4b-gmbh/) #### Products - [pDS inserts](https://www.p4b.io/pds?hsLang=en) - [Advanced CFD](https://www.p4b.io/cfd?hsLang=en) - [DREAM-bio](https://www.p4b.io/dream-bio?hsLang=en) - [Request a quote](https://www.p4b.io/contact#quote) #### Company - [About us](https://www.p4b.io/about?hsLang=en) - [Case studies](https://www.p4b.io/case-studies?hsLang=en) - [Insights](https://www.p4b.io/insights?hsLang=en) - [Events](https://www.p4b.io/events?hsLang=en) - [Contact](https://www.p4b.io/contact?hsLang=en) #### Contact **Office & deliveries** p4b GmbH Leopold-Ungar-Platz 2 Spaces Square One, Stiege 2 1190 Vienna, Austria [+43 677 61062225](tel:+4367761062225) [office@p4b.io](mailto:office@p4b.io) Registered office: Gärtnersteg 4, 2120 Obersdorf, Austria Supported by ![austria wirtschaftsservice](https://www.p4b.io/hubfs/raw_assets/public/p4b/images/logos/aws.png) ![Bundesministerium Arbeit und Wirtschaft](https://www.p4b.io/hubfs/raw_assets/public/p4b/images/logos/bmaw.png) ![Bundesministerium Klimaschutz, Umwelt, Energie, Mobilität, Innovation und Technologie](https://www.p4b.io/hubfs/raw_assets/public/p4b/images/logos/bmk.png) ![FFG](https://www.p4b.io/hubfs/raw_assets/public/p4b/images/logos/ffg.png) © 2026 p4b GmbH · FN 611768i · ATU79846712 [Imprint](https://www.p4b.io/imprint?hsLang=en)[Privacy policy](https://www.p4b.io/privacy-policy?hsLang=en)Cookie settings ```json { "@context" : "https://schema.org", "@type" : "Organization", "address" : { "@type" : "PostalAddress", "addressCountry" : "AT", "addressLocality" : "Obersdorf", "postalCode" : "2120", "streetAddress" : "Gärtnersteg 4" }, "description" : "Scale-down technology for bioprocess development: 3D-printed pDS inserts, bioreactor CFD and DREAM-bio design optimisation.", "email" : "office@p4b.io", "logo" : "//143831650.fs1.hubspotusercontent-eu1.net/hubfs/143831650/raw_assets/public/p4b/images/p4b-logo-navy.svg", "name" : "p4b GmbH", "sameAs" : [ "https://www.linkedin.com/company/p4b-gmbh/" ], "telephone" : "+43 677 61062225", "url" : "https://www.p4b.io" } ```