What is a single use centrifuge?
A single-use centrifuge is a centrifugation system in which all product-contact parts – such as bowl, tubing and connections – are based on pre-sterilized, disposable modules. After each run, these modules are simply replaced, eliminating time-consuming clean-in-place (CIP) and steam-in-place (SIP) procedures, reducing validation effort and minimizing the risk of cross-contamination.
Key benefits with GEA kytero®
Maximum yield
Our single use centrifuges for gentle cell treatment ensure highly viable cell harvesting and maximum performance.
Fast setup
The single use units are ready in minutes for process testing or small-scale production. No cleaning required, no special training.
Compact design
The space-saving GEA kytero® skids and tabletop units fit with ease in any cleanroom.
Seamless upscaling
Transfer test results from R&D to production with no effort, using the same state-of-the-art disk stack technology throughout.
Compared to traditional stainless-steel centrifuges or depth filtration, single-use disk stack centrifuges significantly reduce changeover time, CIP/SIP requirements and filter area. This shortens campaign turnaround, lowers utility and cleaning media consumption, reduces packaging waste and improves overall facility flexibility – especially in multi-product and clinical manufacturing environments.
GEA kytero® 10
World’s smallest single use disk stack centrifuge
Experience the first tabletop centrifuge offering superior disk stack separation – easy to operate even in the tightest cleanroom spaces!
Designed for 1–10 l bioreactors, the GEA kytero® 10 is a breakthrough for small-scale R&D facilities and biotech producers looking to achieve efficient cell harvesting and product recovery with maximum yield and high cell viability – all with a remarkably low-risk investment.
Maximum performance in tabletop format:
- Ideal for 1–10 l bioreactors
- Scalable to any disk stack separator size
- Compact tabletop design: 450 × 200 × 550 mm
- Fed-batch harvesting and high-yield perfusion operation
- Biocontainment-proof, contact-free Breezedrive® system
- No utilities except power and pressurized air
- Easiest implementation and operation
- Minimal footprint
As a compact benchtop centrifuge, GEA kytero® 10 offers all the handling advantages of a mini centrifuge while delivering the performance and scalability of industrial disk stack technology. This makes it ideal for rapid process development, clone selection and small-volume perfusion processes in laboratories and pilot plants.
A world-first from GEA.
Fully scalable GEA kytero® series for single use
World's first from GEA – kytero® 10 with a new machine design
GEA kytero® 10 single use centrifuge in operation
GEA kytero® 500
Single use disk stack separation – for small/medium-scale facilities
Designed to provide small or medium-scale facilities with minimum-effort fed-batch and perfusion separation, this compact, mobile skid unit processes fermentation broth from bioreactors up to 500 l.
The single use concept with aseptic, clip-on aseptic bowl and pathways reduces preparation time to minutes – no SIP/CIP required. Cutting-edge disk stack separation ensures superior efficiency, yield, and cell viability for applications such as mammalian cell cultures, recombinant protein production, and cell therapies.
Efficient cell harvesting in a snap:
- Ideal for bioreactors up to 500 l
- Scalable to any disk stack separator size
- Compact dimensions: 950 x 800 x 1,800 mm
- Fed-batch harvesting and high-yield perfusion operation
- Biocontainment-proof, contact-free Breezedrive® system
- No utilities except power and pressurized air
Depending on cell density and process conditions, GEA kytero® 500 typically handles feed flows in the range required for 50–500 L bioreactors, supporting both batch and intensified perfusion strategies in upstream processing.
GEA kytero® 2000
Single use disk stack separation – for medium/large-scale facilities
Designed to extend single use handling efficiency to medium or larger-scale facilities, this compact, mobile skid unit processes fermentation broth from bioreactors up to 2,000 l for fed-batch and perfusion separation.
The single use concept with aseptic, clip-on aseptic bowl and pathways reduces preparation time to minutes – no SIP/CIP required. Cutting-edge disk stack separation ensures superior efficiency, yield, and cell viability.
Maximum capacity with single use simplicity:
- Ideal for bioreactors up to 2,000 l
- Scalable to any disk stack separator size
- Compact dimensions: 1,220 x 960 x 1,810 mm
- Fed-batch harvesting and high-yield perfusion operation
- Biocontainment-proof, contact-free Breezedrive® system
- No utilities except power and pressurized air
Using the same disk stack separation principle and single-use flow path across kytero® 10, 500 and 2000 enables straightforward scale-up from early development to clinical and commercial manufacturing, with minimal re-qualification effort.
Take your success further with these gains for your operation:
Reduced dependency
Single use centrifuges avoid extensive cleaning and validation and reduce dependency on filtration.
Secure biocontainment
100% biocontainment-proof, closed pathways and contactfree Breezedrive® system minimize risks and ensure safe, leakage-free operation.
Flexible production
All GEA kytero® machines can be operated in fed-batch harvesting and/or high-yield perfusion mode to realize diverse production strategies.
Numerous products
GEA kytero® units efficiently separate pharma compounds, food proteins or gene therapy cells from mammalian cell or bacterial fermentation broth.
Faster delivery
The operation efficiency of these single use units enables faster R&D and production results.
Next generation
The GEA kytero® concept offers a low-investment gateway to the next generation of process and development.
How it works
In a kytero® single-use disk stack centrifuge, the cell-containing broth is gently fed into a rotating bowl equipped with a stack of conical disks. Cells are driven outwards by centrifugal force and collected as a concentrated fraction, while the clarified supernatant continuously exits the system. The fully enclosed, disposable flow path ensures low shear, high cell viability and reliable biocontainment.
Frequently Asked Questions
A single-use centrifuge is a centrifugation system where all product-contact parts are disposable modules, eliminating the need for cleaning and sterilization between runs.
Single-use centrifuges are used to clarify and harvest mammalian and microbial cell cultures, including CHO cells, bacteria, yeast and cells for gene and cell therapy applications, without the need for cleaning or sterilization between runs.
Examples of single-use systems include single-use bioreactors, single-use mixers, and single-use centrifuges like the GEA kytero® series, which utilize disposable modules for processing.
The cost of a centrifuge varies widely depending on its type, capacity, features, and whether it's a lab-scale or industrial-scale unit. Single-use centrifuges, while having a higher consumable cost per run, can offer significant savings in validation, cleaning, and downtime compared to traditional systems such as superspeed centrifuges or benchtop centrifuges with reusable centrifuge rotors. For specific pricing, please contact our sales team.
Mini centrifuges are typically used for small-volume laboratory applications, such as quick spins of microcentrifuge tubes. The GEA kytero® 10, as a tabletop single-use disk stack centrifuge, extends this compact format to more complex cell harvesting and clarification tasks in R&D.
While conventional mini centrifuges are typically used for small-volume lab tubes, kytero® single-use disk stack centrifuges combine a compact footprint with industrial-scale separation efficiency and easy scale-up to production volumes.
Disk stack separation can reduce filter area, labor and consumable costs, especially at higher cell densities. Single-use centrifuges also provide consistent performance across scales and minimize the risk of filter blockage during intensified processes.
Test machines available now!
GEA kytero® 500 tested at CDMO ProBioGen
The GEA kytero® 500 single use pharma cell separator has been intensively tested at the globally recognized Contract Development & Manufacturing Organization (CDMO) ProBioGen, Berlin.
GEA kytero® 500 tested at ZHAW Zurich University of Applied Sciences
Download the ProBioGen study and ZHAW study whitepapers
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