Automating cell and tissue production

Automated cell culture system selected for use in the first major European study on automating the manufacture of regenerative medicine products

The Automation Partnership, a manufacturer of industrial automation for life science applications, reports that the Remedi consortium has chosen a Compact Select automated cell culture system for use in the first major European study on automating the manufacture of regenerative medicine products.

The Compact Select, which will be installed at Loughborough University, (one of the Remedi consortium's key sites) will initially be used to automate manual cell culture in standard T-175 flasks.

David Williams, professor of healthcare engineering at Loughborough University and the lead investigator of the Remedi consortium explained: "We wanted a Compact Select at the heart of our research because it is one of the newest and most exciting automated cell culture systems currently available.

"Using its sophisticated capabilities we are going to determine how to automate the production of both cell and tissue based therapies, which will mean evaluating the biology and the engineering principles behind this difficult task".

The consortium's Compact Select system has a small six-axis anthropomorphic robotic arm and operates under negative pressure laminar airflow, preventing contamination of any cells being grown in it.

The system is said to be capable of fully unattended operation and has the capacity to process 130 T-175 flasks ensuring the consortium's scientists can rapidly advance their research by continuously culturing multiple different cell lines in parallel.

Hilary Latham, senior product manager at TAP, commented: "We are delighted that the Remedi consortium has chosen a Compact Select system for such a ground breaking project.

The information they gain from this pivotal study has the potential to revolutionise the field of regenerative medicine and could in the long term provide innovative protocols and systems for the effective production of affordable tissues.".

Back to top