Real-time chemical and biochemical measurement specialist Stratophase is collaborating with LGC to validate its technology, which has the potential to improve cell bioprocessing methods.
LGC is the UK's National Measurement Institute for chemical and bio-analytical measurement.
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 that increases the risk of biocontamination.
Therefore, the ability to monitor cell growth continually and subsequently optimise conditions for increased yield and purity is vital.
LGC has experience in the scale-up of mammalian cells for biomarker expression, genetic stability testing and cell therapy and is 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 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 is said to complement standard bioreactor probe technologies for measuring pH and oxygen levels, offering a tool for real-time monitoring of changes within the bioreactor system and enabling better control over the bioreactor environment to promote optimal cell growth.
