Inside the EasyFerm Plus Arc pH Sensor.
The Hamilton EasyFerm Plus Arc is a pH sensor for processes that work outside the cell-culture band — full pH 0–14 measurement on a smart-sensor platform that talks ModBus directly to your controller. The Arc architecture builds the transmitter into the sensor head itself, so the cable runs straight from the probe to the controller’s digital input; calibration data, sensor diagnostics and temperature compensation all live on the sensor. Whether you’re running an aggressive microbial fermentation, monitoring a CIP cycle in place, or scaling an industrial enzyme process across pilot vessels, the EasyFerm Plus Arc delivers ± 0.02 pH accuracy over the full pH range — with predictive sensor diagnostics that flag service needs before they reach the data.
Hamilton Arc — built-in transmitter, ModBus to controller.
The Hamilton EasyFerm Plus Arc is engineered by Hamilton, a global leader in process analytical sensors with a particularly strong reputation in pH, DO and CO₂ instrumentation for biopharmaceutical, food and life-science applications. The Arc platform — Hamilton’s smart-sensor architecture — integrates the transmitter into the sensor itself, so each probe carries its own electronics, calibration data and diagnostic intelligence. The result is a pH sensor that talks ModBus directly to your controller, with no external transmitter box in between.
Electrochemical pH measurement across the full 0–14 range.
The EasyFerm Plus Arc measures pH using a combination glass electrode — a pH-sensitive glass membrane develops a voltage proportional to hydrogen-ion activity in the medium, measured against an Ag/AgCl reference system. The Electrochemical principle is the established standard for bioprocess pH measurement, and the EasyFerm Plus configuration is tuned for the full pH 0–14 range, with ± 0.02 pH accuracy maintained across the entire window.
What “full-range” means in practice: most bioprocess pH sensors are tuned for cell culture’s narrow band — the AppliSens Smart pH, for instance, optimises its glass-membrane composition for the pH 2–9 window and delivers tighter ± 0.01 pH accuracy within it. The EasyFerm Plus Arc takes the opposite approach. It accepts a small accuracy concession (± 0.02 pH instead of ± 0.01 pH) in exchange for measuring reliably across the full pH spectrum — including aggressive acid fermentations, base-titrated industrial bioprocesses, and CIP-cycle validation work where the sensor sees pH 1 or pH 13 routinely.
Four insertion lengths for benchtop through pilot vessels.
The EasyFerm Plus Arc is available in four insertion lengths covering benchtop through pilot-scale vessels, all using the PG 13.5 standard thread and a consistent 12 mm probe diameter across the range.
120 mm — small benchtop
- 1 AppliFlex ST 500 mL and 2 L (single-use).
- 2 Small Glass Autoclavable Bioreactor.
225 mm — standard lab-scale
- 1 AppliFlex ST 15 L (single-use).
- 2 Standard Glass Autoclavable Bioreactor.
325 mm — bench-scale
- 1 BioBench stainless-steel bioreactor.
425 mm — pilot-scale
- 1 BioPilot stainless-steel bioreactor.
The 12 mm probe diameter is consistent across the range. The EasyFerm Plus Arc is not currently offered in MiniBio-compatible insertion lengths — the integrated Arc transmitter requires more probe volume than the MiniBio geometry accommodates.
| Cell Type | Cell Culture and Microbial Other Cell Culture Microbial |
| Technology Platform | Multi-Use |
| Insertion lengths in mm | 120 225 325 425 |
| Thread Type | PG 13.5 |
| Measured Parameter | pH |
| Connector Type | VP8 |
| Diameter | 12 mm |
| Measurement range | pH 0 – 14 |
| Measurement Accuracy (±) | ± 0.02 pH |
| Sensors Autoclavable | Yes |
| Sensors Max sterilization temperature | 140 °C |
| Measurement principle | Potentiometry |
| Reference System | Ag / AgCl |
| Communication type | ModBus ARC |
| Sensors Compatible bioreactors | Applikon Autoclavable Glass Bioreactor Applikon BioBench Stainless Steel Bioreactor Applikon BioPilot Stainless Steel Bioreactor AppliFlex ST single use-Bioreactors |
| Controller (compatible) | Applikon ez2-Control Bioreactor Controller Applikon in-Control Bioreactor Controller Applikon Livit Flex Bioprocess Controller Applikon my-Control Bioreactor Controller |
| PAT-enabled (sensors) | Yes |
Research & Process Development
The EasyFerm Plus Arc delivers PAT-grade pH measurement during early-stage process development, media optimisation and cell-line characterisation. Full pH 0–14 measurement range with ± 0.02 pH accuracy supports cell culture in the tight pH 6.8–7.4 band as well as fermentation campaigns where pH excursions during high-OUR phases are routine — without changing sensors between application categories.
Screening & Optimization
Multiple insertion lengths (120 / 225 / 325 / 425 mm) and the universal PG 13.5 thread let the same EasyFerm Plus Arc move between Applikon Autoclavable Glass Bioreactor screening vessels, AppliFlex ST single-use bioreactors, and BioBench / BioPilot stainless-steel pilot vessels without separate sensor SKUs. On-board calibration history travels with the sensor across every vessel transfer, so screening runs maintain measurement continuity even as the vessel format changes.
GMP Transition
Built for the transition from research workflows into regulated process development. On-board Arc Intelligence stores calibration history and configuration in the sensor itself, with ArcAir delivering audit-trail-ready diagnostics, predictive cap-replacement signals and fleet-wide reporting. Autoclavable to 140 °C, SIP and CIP tolerant.
GMP Manufacturing
Suitable for cGMP-compliant bioprocess production from pilot through full-scale manufacturing. Modbus Arc connectivity, native integration with the full Applikon controller range, and pressure-peak stability carry the sensor into clinical and commercial production environments — with the documentation depth, operational consistency and full-pH-range coverage these environments require.
Compatible Bioreactors
- Applikon Autoclavable Glass Bioreactor The Applikon Autoclavable Glass Bioreactor is a stirred tank bioreactor designed…
- Applikon BioBench Stainless Steel Bioreactor The Applikon BioBench is a stainless steel bioreactor system designed for simple…
- Applikon BioPilot Stainless Steel Bioreactor The Applikon BioPilot is a stainless steel bioreactor system for simple and reli…
- AppliFlex ST Single-Use Bioreactor The Applikon AppliFlex ST is a fully customizable single-use stirred tank biorea…
Compatible controllers
- Applikon Livit Flex Bioprocess Controller The Applikon Livit Flex is the next generation of bioprocess control systems — c…
- Applikon ez2-Control Bioreactor Controller The Applikon ez2-Control is an advanced bioreactor controller designed to simpli…
- Applikon my-Control Bioreactor Controller The Applikon my-Control is the most advanced bioreactor controller for small-sca…
- Applikon in-Control Bioreactor Controller The Applikon in-Control is a process controller for laboratory scale bioreactors…
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Full-range pH for processes that need it.
The pH 0–14 measurement range isn’t a marketing claim — it’s an engineering choice that broadens what the sensor can actually do. For most mammalian cell culture work, the AppliSens Smart pH’s optimised pH 2–9 range delivers tighter accuracy and is the right tool. But there are bioprocess applications where pH excursions outside that band are routine, not exceptional — microbial fermentation with aggressive acid or base titration where the controller corrects through pH 4 or pH 9 territory during high-OUR phases, industrial enzyme production at extreme pH (some hydrolases work at pH 10+; certain protease processes run at pH 2–3), CIP cycle validation where the sensor stays in the vessel through caustic and acid wash cycles to confirm pH endpoint, and single-cell-protein and biofuel processes where the operating pH falls outside the cell-culture sweet spot.
For these workflows, the EasyFerm Plus Arc covers ranges where a narrower-spec sensor would clip, drift or fail outright. ± 0.02 pH accuracy across the full range is sufficient for closed-loop control on every one of these applications.
The Arc difference — no external transmitter, on-board diagnostics.
The Arc platform puts the transmitter electronics inside the sensor head. That changes the operational picture in two practical ways.
First, no external transmitter box. The cable runs from the sensor directly to the controller’s ModBus input — no signal-conversion module on the bench, no extra rack space, no analog-to-digital conversion error introduced between sensor and controller. On Applikon Livit Flex, ez2-Control, my-Control and in-Control, the sensor is auto-detected by its Arc ID on connection — no manual driver setup.
Second, on-board diagnostics. The sensor monitors its own health — calibration drift, glass-membrane condition, reference-junction status, temperature compensation — and reports continuously to the controller. For long perfusion campaigns or 14-day fermentation runs, this means you know about a drifting calibration or a failing reference junction before it affects the data, not after. For sites with multiple bioreactors, this matters at fleet level: the controller sees sensor health across every vessel, and predictive maintenance becomes a data-driven decision rather than a calendar-based assumption.
From port to readings — the EasyFerm Plus Arc workflow
The EasyFerm Plus Arc workflow runs across three phases.
Install. Select the insertion length matching your vessel and seat the sensor through the PG 13.5 port. The VP8 connector mates with the controller’s sensor input; on Applikon Livit Flex, ez2-Control, my-Control and in-Control, the Arc sensor is auto-detected by its Arc ID — no manual driver setup, no firmware configuration.
Calibrate and run. Two-point calibration with standard pH 4.01 and pH 7.00 buffers — with optional three-point extension to pH 9.00 or pH 10.00 for high-pH work — establishes the working slope. The calibration is stored in the sensor’s own non-volatile memory, so the sensor can be moved between vessels without recalibration as long as conditions are equivalent. From there, the sensor reads continuously through autoclave, inoculation and the full run, with ± 0.02 pH accuracy maintained across the process window.
Sterilise and reuse. Autoclave the assembled vessel with the sensor in place, up to 140 °C — a higher rating than even the electrochemical AppliSens sensors. The sensor stays in situ through sterilisation; for CIP/SIP work, it stays in through the cleaning cycles too. The Multi-Use platform supports many cycles, and the Arc diagnostics signal when service is approaching.
What you get with the EasyFerm Plus Arc
- Full pH 0–14 measurement range — ± 0.02 pH accuracy maintained across the entire spectrum, not just the cell-culture band.
- Arc smart-sensor architecture — built-in transmitter, on-board calibration storage, real-time diagnostics; no external transmitter box, no analog conversion.
- ModBus Arc digital communication — direct integration with Applikon Livit Flex, ez2-Control, my-Control and in-Control; auto-detection on connection.
- Four insertion lengths, autoclavable to 140 °C — covers AppliFlex ST 500 mL through BioPilot pilot scale; higher sterilisation rating than any electrochemical AppliSens sensor.
Spec your EasyFerm Plus Arc with Resea Biotec
The Hamilton EasyFerm Plus Arc is a full-range pH 0–14 Arc smart sensor — built-in transmitter, on-board calibration storage, on-board diagnostics, ± 0.02 pH accuracy across the full range, autoclavable to 140 °C, and native auto-detection on every Applikon controller in the Resea range. Available in four insertion lengths covering AppliFlex ST single-use bioreactors at 500 mL through to BioPilot pilot-scale stainless-steel vessels.
The choice between the EasyFerm Plus Arc (full range, ± 0.02 pH) and the AppliSens Smart pH (narrower range, ± 0.01 pH) is the conversation worth having before specifying — different processes want different optimisation points, and the call depends on your actual pH operating window. Resea Biotec is the Swiss distribution and service partner for Hamilton bioprocess sensors — based in Recherswil, supporting customers across Switzerland with local technical support and on-site service.
Talk to our team and we’ll spec the right sensor for your process, confirm the right insertion length and thread combination, advise on the calibration buffer workflow for your pH range, and stay on hand for application and maintenance support throughout the sensor’s life. Whether you’re running mammalian cell culture in a tight pH band, microbial fermentation with aggressive titration, industrial bioprocesses at extreme pH, or CIP cycle validation where the sensor stays in through cleaning — we’ll help you spec the right combination end to end.
