Revolutionary Bioprocess Technique, Allows Continuous Production of Cells
Cell culture is a process where the cells are taken from an animal or plant and grown artificially under controlled conditions. The traditional way of growing cells in the lab is over the surface area of a flask and then detaching them chemically or enzymatically for use.
The cells are produced in batches but the batch size is limited to the area upon which the cells are grown. This restriction is a well-recognized bottle-neck in therapeutic cell manufacture.
But now, researchers at the Newcastle University have developed a coating which allows individual stromal cells to get detached and peel away from the surface on which they are grown. This creates more space so that further cells can grow in their place – continuously. The team has also demonstrated that the process works across a range of stromal cells including mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs).
Che Connon, Professor of Tissue Engineering and author of the paper, said: “This allows us to move away, for the first time, from the batch production of cells to an unremitting process. Remarkably, with this continuous production technique, even a culture surface the size of a penny can, over a period of time, generate the same number of cells as a much larger-sized flask. The concept also represents an important innovation for cell-based therapies, where treatments can require up to a billion cells per patient. With our new technology, one square meter would produce enough cells to treat 4,000 patients, while traditional methods would require an area equivalent to a football pitch!
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“Our new technology also offers complete control over the rate of cell production, so it could be scaled up using existing stacked culture flasks to produce one billion cells per week, or scaled down so as to fit a bioreactor on the head of a pin.”
The team’s study addresses this challenge, describing a special “peptide amphiphile” coating that allows adherent cells to reach a steady balance between growth and detachment. The self-detaching cells are then produced in a continuous bioprocess and available for use in a variety of downstream applications without losing their original characteristics. The potential reduced size of a continuous cell bioprocess has obvious advantages in terms of lower production costs and increased coverage and application.
Martina Miotto, a Ph.D. student from the Institute of Genetic Medicine, who is the first author on the paper, said: “The concept of a continuous bioprocess is currently used to produce biopharmaceuticals such as vaccines and anti-cancer antibodies, but never before for cells.
“There is a fantastically high number of patients in need of cell therapy, such as those suffering from heart, cartilage, skin and cancer-related diseases. Our new technology provides a much-needed solution while saving costs, reducing materials and improving the quality and the standardization of the final product.”
