Achieving this level of cell density in the flask provides a significant increase in the yields of recombinant proteins, said the company.
Integra said the new study, undertaken in conjunction with fellow Swiss company CEPower, demonstrates the advantages of its CELLine disposable flask bioreactor for cultivation of high levels of recombinant proteins in CHO (Chinese hamster ovary) cells, the most commonly used cell type for making recombinant proteins for use in humans.
The study shows that adherent CHO cells were successfully cultivated for several weeks in the CELLine adhere reaching a density of 1.6 x 10 to the power 7 cells / ml. This represents a 10-fold increase when compared to non-compartmentalised culture systems such as T-Flasks. As a result of this high cell density a nine-fold improvement in the productivity of the expressed recombinant protein was achieved.
Additional benefits noted by the researchers in using the CELLine adhere included decreased volumes of supernatant, lower consumption of serum and lower use of consumables resulting in significant savings in the time, labour and material costs of protein production and downstream processing.
A technical poster, describing this work, was short listed from a total of 232 submissions for the poster awards at the recent European Society for Animal Cell Technology (ESACT) 2005 meeting in Harrogate, UK.
The CELLine is designed for protein expression from adherent cells and incorporates a woven polyethylene terephthalate matrix in the cell compartment to provide a good surface for attachment of anchorage dependent cells such as CHO, HEK and BHK.
Through use of membrane technology the two-compartment bioreactor CELLine adhere enables high cell densities and corresponding product concentrations to be grown in both batch and semi-continuous culture modes.
"The study demonstrates that the CELLine adhere is an ideal tool for rapid and cost effective small scale manufacturing of recombinant proteins in anchorage dependent cells," said Integra in a statement.