Application Note

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By S. Dubois (ATMI LifeSciences) and K. Lipinski (Vibalogics)

Viral vaccines are usually produced by anchorage-dependent cell lines (e.g. VERO, MRC-5, WI-38 and CEF). At industrial scale, these cells are either cultivated in static mode on multiplate systems (Cell Factories, Cell Cube, etc.), on Roller bottles or on microcarriers (porous or non-porous) in suspension in bioreactors. Multiplate systems are bulky and require a lot of handling operations, whereas microcarrier cultures require numerous operations (sterilization and hydration of carriers, etc.) and many steps from precultures to final process with complex operations (i.e. bead-to-bead transfers). Today, most of the currently-available single-use reactors are not well-adapted to cultivate animal cells immobilized on microcarriers, as perfusion is the technology of choice for these productions.

In this framework, ATMI LifeSciences developed iCELLis™, a scalable line of single-use high-cell-density bioreactors operating in perfusion mode. By combining the advantages of single-use technologies with the benefits of a fixed-bed system, iCELLis systems are designed to simplify anchorage-dependent cell processes.

Central to the iCELLis bioreactor is the use of a compact fixed-bed pre-packed with medical grade proprietary macrocarriers providing a large growth surface area in a compact bioreactor volume.

iCELLis bioreactors can be inoculated at very low density due to a high biomass multiplication occurring in the fixed bed: Six Cell Factories 10 plates (4m²) are sufficient to inoculate a 333m² iCELLis bioreactor. As a result of this process simplification, the manual operations and associated costs are reduced dramatically.