The precision and repeatability of in vivo biological studies is predicated upon methods for isolating a targeted subsystem from external sources of noise and variability. However, in many experimental frameworks, this is made challenging by nonstatic environments during host cell growth, as well as variability introduced by manual sampling and measurement protocols. To address these challenges, we developed Chi.Bio, a parallelised open-source platform that represents a new experimental paradigm in which all measurement and control actions can be applied to a bulk culture in situ. In addition to continuous-culturing capabilities, it incorporates tunable light outputs, spectrometry, and advanced automation features. We demonstrate its application to studies of cell growth and biofilm formation, automated in silico control of optogenetic systems, and readout of multiple orthogonal fluorescent proteins in situ. By integrating precise measurement and actuation hardware into a single low-cost platform, Chi.Bio facilitates novel experimental methods for synthetic, systems, and evolutionary biology and broadens access to cutting-edge research capabilities.

体内生物学研究的准确性和可重复性取决于从外部噪声和变异性源中分离目标子系统的方法。然而，在许多实验框架中，宿主细胞生长过程中的非静态环境以及手动采样和测量协议引入的可变性使这一点变得具有挑战性。为了应对这些挑战，我们开发了Chi.Bio，这是一个并行化的开源平台，代表了一种新的实验范例，在该范例中，所有测量和控制操作都可以应用于原位培养。除了连续培养功能之外，它还具有可调光输出，光谱测定法和先进的自动化功能。我们展示了其在细胞生长和生物膜形成，光遗传学系统的计算机自动控制中的应用，并在原位读出多种正交荧光蛋白。通过将精确的测量和驱动硬件集成到一个低成本平台中，Chi.Bio促进了合成，系统和进化生物学的新颖实验方法，并拓宽了前沿研究能力的途径。