A packed bed bioreactor system for enhancing the growth of Vero cells in a semi-continuous mode of operation

Vero cells utilization in vaccine production has contributed significantly to controlling viral diseases and improving the healthcare system in the US and around the world. There is a lot of emphasis on improving cell yield in large scale operations especially in stirred-tank bioreactor systems.  Vero cells are anchorage dependent cells and thus, they require a surface area to attach to and expand. In stirred tank bioreactors, cells are usually grown on microcarriers, which involve several steps in attaching the cells to the microcarrier beads before they are added to the bioreactor. Usually a pitch-blade bioreactor system is used for this purpose. In this investigation, we are utilizing Eppendorf’s Bench-top packed bed bioreactor system, both a glass vessel and a BioBLU^® 5p single use vessel (the blue bioreactor system), to grow and enhance Vero cell yield in a semi-continuous mode of operation and compare the data between the two types of bioreactor systems.  The Packed-bed system provides a 3-D environment for the Vero cells to grow with zero shear effects. Daily samples were taken and glucose up-take and lactate production,  production were measured utilizing the Roche Cedex system. Based on daily data collected from glucose up-take either glucose or fresh media were added to keep cells in the exponential phase for 21 days. In this presentation, the results of growth enhancement, seed train development and single use versus glass vessels will be presented and the potential application of the system for viral vaccine production will be highlighted.