SC3: Optimising Cell Culture Media
MONDAY 18 MARCH, 13:00 – 16:00
13:00 Modern Cell Culture Medium Development: An Introduction
Anja Wüst, PhD, Project Manager, Media Development, Xell AG
Modern cell culture media formulations are a defined, but complex composition of often more than 50 raw materials. The quality of these individual components, their proportions as well as their interactions define the final media performance and robustness. This presentation will give an overview of critical points to consider when working with modern cell culture media and the design and production thereof. Finally, a few examples illustrate the potential of a targeted and rational medium development.
- Chemically defined cell culture media and feed
- Challenges in the context of cell culture media development
- Cell culture media parameters and characterization
13:45 Streamlining High-Throughput Cell Culture Media Optimization with Templated Data Capture, Visualization and Data Analysis
Ronan O’Kennedy, PhD, Consulting Bioprocess Specialist, ROK Bioconsulting
In this workshop, we will look at bottlenecks and solutions to processing data from high throughput (HTP) media optimization platforms. Equipment such as Ambr15, Vicell/Cedex, Octet, metabolite analysers typically used for HTP media optimisation result in manual experimental data flows that can be time consuming, prone to errors and dependent on the user ability.
The speed of merging from each data source and subsequent analysis can be improved using a templated capture and analysis approach. Data sets need to be efficiently merged & parsed, checked for errors, visualized & analysed.
A templated spreadsheet approach will be shown to automate these data flows after data entry. Automated plots allow rapid at-line assessment of each culture and identification of outlier measurements so that repeat measurements or sampling can be carried out.
After outlier detection, data analysis flows evaluate experimental replication. Experimental responses are automatically extracted and calculated from the raw data. These responses are formatted to be transferred directly to user analysis program of choice. Analysis flows and outputs are considered depending on the nature of the experiment (media optimisation, cell line selection, shake -flask or multi-parallel bioreactor)
Three automated analysis outputs are considered in the talk DOE in MODDE / DX10, SIMCA batch analysis and cluster analysis which rapidly delivers different views of their experiments. This approach improves data analysis flows and reduces analysis bottlenecks leading to more rapid decision making.
14:30 Refreshment Break
15:00 Media Development Innovation and Intensified Upstream Processing
Luis Fernando Ayala Solares, MSc, Scientist, Perfusion Systems, Cell Culture Media Development, Upstream R&D, Merck KGaA
Tackling some of the toughest problems in cell culture media have required the development of chemical innovations. Furthermore, when looking for a better customized performing media, statistic approaches can provide additional valuable information. In this short course, it will be shown how chemically modified amino acids can overcome classical solubility and stability limitations of CCM, and how multivariate analysis can help to identify critical components impacting both performance and product quality. Finally, it will be shown how cellular productivity can be enhanced by coupling streamlining and combinations of media under a novel intensified seed train expansion approach. The latter involving a high cell density cryopreservation step.
15:45 Extended Q&A
16:00 Close of Optimising Media Workshop
Speaker Biographies:
Anja Wüst, PhD, Project Manager, Media Development, Xell AG
I did my Diploma in Chemistry, followed by a PhD in protein biochemistry at the University of Freiburg, in the field of different bacterial cell cultivations and the influence of cell growth parameter on specific proteins, that are further characterized via X-ray spectroscopy. Afterwards I started working at the Xell AG in Bielefeld as project manager for the development of cell culture media for mammalian cell lines. With my background in chemistry and biochemistry I could complement the biotechnology knowledge of the company with an additional expertise.
Ronan O’Kennedy, PhD, Consulting Bioprocess Specialist, ROK Bioconsulting
Dr O’Kennedy is the director and principal consultant at ROK Bioconsulting. ROK Bioconsulting provides technical and strategic support for biopharmaceutical development throughout the product development lifecycle. He has over twenty years of experience in the biopharmaceutical industry and academia working within process development and CMO organizations. Research focus include linking upstream process performance to downstream product quality and data driven process modelling in support of PAT and QbD objectives maximizing the value of process data and data re-use throughout the product lifecycle.
Luis Fernando Ayala Solares, MSc, Scientist, Perfusion Systems, Cell Culture Media Development, Upstream R&D, Merck KGaA
Luis Ayala is a chemical engineer with extensive expertise in cell culture and perfusion processes. Currently, he works as a research scientist in the Perfusion Systems Laboratory from Dr. Jochen Sieck within the Life Science Business from Merck KGaA (Darmstadt). He focuses primarily on customer media development service. Luis holds a bachelor’s degree in Chemical Engineering with minor in Environmental Engineering from the Monterrey Institute of Technology and Higher Education (Mexico, 2014) and a master’s degree in Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne (Switzerland, 2016). During his master’s studies, he carried out a practical semester at Merck KGaA (Corsier-sur-Vevey, Switzerland) working on perfusion process development and performed his master’s thesis focusing on 3D intestinal stem cell cultivation and organoid formation. After his master’s studies, he conducted a research internship at ETH Zurich in the Morbidelli Group focusing on T-cell culture media development.