untangle.bio — Downstream bioprocess route design

Downstream process designBuilt for biotech engineers

Separate<br>the broth.<br>Rank the<br>routes.

Define a feed. The generator lays out every viable downstream train and ranks them by yield, purity and cost, streaming results as it finds them.

Try it free →<br>no install · runs in the browser

34<br>unit operations

Any<br>molecule you can run

10k+<br>routes per run

Centrifuge → UF 10k → IEX → Spray dry · 94Disc centrifuge → MF → Affinity → Freeze dry · 88Depth filter → UF 30k → SEC → Spray dry · 82Centrifuge → NF → IEX → Vacuum tray · 77Microfiltration → UF 10k → RP-HPLC · 71<br>Centrifuge → UF 10k → IEX → Spray dry · 94Disc centrifuge → MF → Affinity → Freeze dry · 88Depth filter → UF 30k → SEC → Spray dry · 82Centrifuge → NF → IEX → Vacuum tray · 77Microfiltration → UF 10k → RP-HPLC · 71

Fig. 1 — Lysozyme · fermentation broth<br>separating

Route<br>#12 / 8,412

Yield<br>100.0%

Purity<br>14.0%

CAPEX<br>$12.3M

Fig. 2 — Generated route · Lysozyme DSP<br>route #12 / 8,412

Yield87.4%

Purity96.2%

CAPEX$12.3M

Feed

Lysozyme · HCP<br>salts · debris

120 L/hr

Centrifuge

UF 10k

IEX

Spray dry

Lysozyme

Waste

Waste

01<br>Route generation

Thousands of processes, ranked

A diversity-preserving genetic search proposes downstream trains; a rules engine drops the ones that would never run in a plant.

Ranked, not just generated

Every candidate scored on recovery, purity and installed cost. Sort or filter on any of them.

Genetic search tuned for breadth over one optimum

33 engineering constraints reject infeasible trains

Filter by selectivity, concentration or economics

Streaming output, routes land as found

01Centrifuge → UF 10k → IEX → Spray dry94

02Disc centrifuge → MF → Affinity → Freeze dry88

03Depth filter → UF 30k → SEC → Spray dry82

04Centrifuge → NF → IEX → Vacuum tray77

05Microfiltration → UF 10k → RP-HPLC71

02<br>Techno-economics

A price tag on every option

Power-law scaling from real equipment data, Lang factors for installation, utilities and labor read straight off the flowsheet.

Price it before you build it

CAPEX · one-time

Equipment purchase$7,020,000

Installation (Lang factor)$5,280,000

Total CAPEX$12,300,000

OPEX · per year

Utilities$1,040,000

Labor$720,000

Total OPEX / yr$1,760,000

Illustrative summary · not the full model

Compare the trade-off

Every route carries CAPEX, OPEX and utilities, auto-sized to your throughput. See the whole set in yield × purity × cost space.

37 operations with industry cost curves

Per-operation scaling exponents (0.5–0.75)

Auto-sized to your production rate

3D trade-off plot across all results

03<br>The workspace

Everything in one place

AAny molecule<br>300+ curated molecules with full properties (MW, pKa, solubility, pI, diffusion), or define your own. Run essentially anything.

BLive mass balance<br>Stream-level concentrations, flow and pH update as you build the train.

CMulti-product trains<br>Co-purify several targets with branching outlets and per-product yields.

DExpert rules<br>33 constraints block infeasible designs: chromatography prereqs, fouling, drying order.

E3D trade-off plot<br>Every route in yield × purity × CAPEX space. Pick the corner you want to live in.

04<br>The method

Three moves

1Define the feed<br>Flow, pH and components. Pick from the library or enter a custom molecule.

2Generate routes<br>Set yield and purity targets, then explore thousands of downstream sequences.

3Pick and export<br>Compare by yield, purity and CAPEX. Drop the winner onto the canvas.

Point it at your<br>hardest separation.

no install · no spreadsheets · runs in the browser

Open the app →