- Cambridge Reactor Design developed the Polar Bear Plus, a simple and inexpensive tool for precisely controlling temperature from -40°C to +150°C without needing cryogenic liquids, circulators, or computers. - It provides an alternative to traditional temperature control methods that are bulky, use large amounts of hazardous chemicals, and can only achieve a single temperature. - The modular device can be customized with different attachments for applications like continuous flow setups, crystallization studies, and more.

1. Cambridge Reactor Design Ltd
Dr Bashir Harji

2. About Cambridge Reactor Design (CRD)
• Founded in 1989 by Dr Bashir Harji still leads the company
• Providing custom engineering projects to Universities and
companies in Europe
• Moved to developing new off-the-shelf products based on
the most successful of these custom projects
• The Polar Bear Plus is our latest technology – an extremely
simple tool for controlling the temperature of an object over
a wide range - hot, ambient and sub ambient conditions

3. Why did we develop this technology?

4. An alternative for freezing mixtures
Cooling agent + Organic solvent or salt
• Only work at a single
Dry ice/p-xylene +13
temperature for a given mixture
Liquid N2/Cyclohexane +6
• Large amounts of cryogenic Dry ice/Benzyl alcohol -15
consumables needed Dry
-22
ice/Tetrachloroethylene
• Costs for freezers, transport,
Dry ice/o-Xylene -29
solvent disposal Dry ice/Acetonitrile -32
• Impractical to use in a large Dry ice/n-Octane -56
Dry ice/Isopropyl Ether -60
number of cases
Dry ice/Acetone -79
• Safety concerns
Liquid N2/(none) -196

5. An alternative to oil circulators
• Bulky apparatus
• Cumbersome tubing –
especially problematic
in glove boxes and
fume-hoods
• Tubing prone to leaking
(who doesn’t like
cleaning up oil from a
fume hood?)

6. Precise data and recording without the use of a
computer
vs.

7. The Technology

8. Modular modification of cooling/heating surface
Standard “hot- Fitted jacket for Multiple smaller Continuous flow
plate” setup round-bottom flasks vessels for e.g. setup with reagents
crystallization running through a
studies coil around a
temperature-
controlled cylinder

9. Exceptional temperature-control
Performance Data: Polar Bear Plus - Crystal with Vial Holder and Ext.
PT100
Master SP, C Measured Temperature, C
-40 -40.00 ± 0.02
-20 -20.00 ± 0.02
0 0.00 ± 0.04
20 20.00 ± 0.10
60 60.00 ± 0.04
100 100.00 ± 0.04
120 120.00 ± 0.04
140 140.00 ± 0.03

10. Programmable temperature profiles
P o la r B e a r P lu s - C r y s ta l. P e r fo r m a n c e D a ta
1 2 0 .0 0
T e m p e ra tu re , C
T e m p . S e t P o in t, C
1 0 0 .0 0
8 0 .0 0
R a m p R a te = R a m p R a te =
1 .0 C /m in 0 .5 C /m in
6 0 .0 0
•
T e m p e ra tu re , C
Set ramp times
4 0 .0 0
and gradients
2 0 .0 0
• Record sample
temperature
0 .0 0
0 .0 0 1 0 0 .0 0 2 0 0 .0 0 3 0 0 .0 0 4 0 0 .0 0 5 0 0 .0 0 6 0 0 .0 0
without the use
-2 0 .0 0
of a computer
-4 0 .0 0
-6 0 .0 0
E la p s e d T im e , m in

11. Key advantages
• Hot, ambient and sub-ambient -40 C to +150 C in a
shoebox.
• No solvents, heat transfer fluids or other peripherals.
• Inexpensive: Running costs are ~5 cents an hour.
• Setup costs ~ 40% cheaper than equivalent oil circulator
products.
• Can use/design attachments for different experiments:
continuous flow, phase change studies, etc.

12. How you can help
In which settings would the capability of precise temperature
control in a compact package be most useful? What
experiments would this technology make easier?
We’ve designed a range of different attachments for the
device. How would you make use of this modularity? Any
other great ideas for extending the device’s capabilities?
Any other crazy ideas what to do with the underlying
technology?

13. Thanks again to our challenge sponsors:
We’re looking forward to your ideas –
remember, just use your marbles!