Temperature-independent passive RFID pressure sensors for single-use bioprocess components

Abstract

Single-use biopharmaceutical manufacturing requires monitoring of critical manufacturing parameters. However, the lack of reliable single-use sensors prevents the biopharmaceutical industry from fully embracing single-use biomanufacturing processes. We report an approach for temperature-independent pressure sensing in single-use bioprocess components using passive radio-frequency identification (RFID) sensors. An RFID pressure sensor is fabricated by applying a pressure sensitive flexible membrane to an RFID-tag-based transducer and a layer that modulates the electromagnetic field (EMF) generated in the RFID sensor antenna. The sensor signal is modulated upon pressure-induced flexing of the membrane, providing a desired quantitative response of pressure of the fluid during the operation of the single-use component. We demonstrate a temperature-independent RFID pressure sensor that was tested to measure pressures from −5 to 33 psi with the ± 0.25 psi accuracy after gamma irradiation. Temperature-independent pressure response is provided from the multivariate analysis of the measured impedance of the sensor.