Application Note: Insect Cell Cultivation In Orbitally Shaken Flasks With Sensors

By N. Riesen, C. Ries, R. Eibl, D. Eibl

Insect cell-based processes have become increasingly influential for tool protein and Virus-like Particle (VLP) vaccine productions over the last years. At small scale insect cells are normally grown in non-instrumented orbitally shaken disposable flasks, in most cases Erlenmeyers, in order to perform seed train productions and early stage process developments. The Shake Flask Reader (SFR) with non-invasive optical sensors for pH and DO is an important contribution to easy quantification of oxygen mass transfer in Erlenmeyers recently made. In addition, this allows controlled processing at mL-scale as exemplified for described Sf-9 and Sf-21 cell mass propagation procedures.