Stuart Tindal and David Chau on Sensors, Standards, and Shared Progress

Access Part 1 of this interview on automation, single-use durability challenges, and the shift to predictive control in continuous bioprocessing.

In Part 2 of a two-part interview at INTERPHEX 2026, Stuart Tindal, portfolio manager, Intensified Downstream Systems, Sartorius; and David Chau, global technical product specialist, Thermo Fisher—both Bio-Process Systems Alliance (BPSA) committee leaders—discuss spectroscopic sensor selection for continuous bioprocessing and the broader role of industry collaboration in advancing the field.

On the sensor side, Tindall argues that no single spectroscopic technique is universally superior; each occupies its own place in the toolbox depending on where it is deployed in the process. Key selection criteria include specificity, response time, ease of reference model generation, and process integration. He favors UV-visible spectrometry in downstream applications and Raman or near-infrared approaches upstream, where the complexity and noise inside a bioreactor demand particularly high specificity. Chau adds that sensor longevity and measurement drift are critical concerns in continuous processing, where instruments must perform reliably over extended periods. Both speakers point to the real frontier: combining multiple spectroscopic modalities—Raman, UV, near-infrared, capacitance, and frequency scanning—into integrated computational models that can monitor and control specific process parameters with greater precision.

The conversation then turns to BPSA's role in the industry. Both speakers describe the organization as a rare forum in which competitors set aside commercial interests to tackle shared challenges, from supply chain resilience during COVID-19 to extractables and leachables standards for single-use plastics, to updates to USP chapter 665. BPSA's technical committees — covering automation, continuous manufacturing, cell and gene therapy, and X-ray sterilization, among others — bring together component suppliers, equipment makers, CMOs, and biomanufacturers to develop industry-wide alignment. Chau captures the spirit well: when competitors share a room and a common purpose, collective innovation becomes possible.