News
12-November 2010
– LGC
collaborates with Stratophase on real-time monitoring of 3D cell
culture
growth
New technology shows potential for improving yields and
reducing cell stress
LGC, the UK’s designated
National Measurement Institute for
chemical and bioanalytical measurement, is collaborating with
Stratophase, a specialist in
real-time chemical and biochemical measurement and detection, to
validate Stratophase’s novel technology which has the potential to
improve cell bio processing methods.
Cell-based measurements underpin research and development
pipelines of key UK industries, including pharmaceutical, cosmetics
and healthcare. Improving the cell manufacturing scale-up process
offers potential benefits to the biopharma and regenerative
medicine sectors by reducing costs of cell-based products, and
improving the speed to clinic.
Current monitoring of the growth of the cells in a bioreactor
system usually requires sub-sampling to measure cell number, a
procedure which increases the risk of bio-contamination. Therefore
the ability to monitor cell growth continually, and subsequently
optimise conditions for increased yield and purity is vital.
LGC has extensive experience in the scale-up of mammalian cells
for biomarker expression, genetic stability testing and cell
therapy and are employing a novel imaging system to measure cell
growth accurately on a three dimensional (3D), free floating
scaffold in a bioreactor system.
By using Stratophase’s innovative SpectroSens insertion probe,
LGC has demonstrated its potential to improve the monitoring of
cell growth in a 3D culture by enabling real-time measurement of
nutrient metabolism and the build-up of waste products. SpectroSens
complements standard bioreactor probe technologies for measuring pH
and oxygen levels, offering a powerful tool for real-time
monitoring of changes within the bioreactor system, and enabling
better control over the bioreactor environment to promote optimal
cell growth.
Damian Marshall, LGC’s Principal Scientist for cell biology, commented, “We are pleased to be
involved in demonstrating how the SpectroSens monitoring technology
can help maximise cell growth rates while minimising undue cellular
stress, opening a route to rapid process development and scale-up,
key to enabling cell therapies to become a mainstream medical
treatment.”
Richard Williams, Stratophase’s chief executive said, “Our
SpectroSens technology has already proven itself in the real-time
monitoring of a number of processes such as fermentations and
continuous flow reactions. We are delighted to build on this
success by working with LGC to demonstrate its ability to improve
the monitoring of 3D cell culture, with the ultimate aim of
fast-tracking the development of cell therapies”.
- Ends -
Notes to
editors