Single-Use Bioreactors For Perfusion Cell Culture Applications

The Thermo Scientific™ DynaDrive™ Single-Use Bioreactor (S.U.B.), the latest advancement in S.U.B. technology, offers better performance and scalability to far larger volumes than previous S.U.B.s. Its cuboid-shaped tank offers several key advantages over legacy S.U.B. designs. The most important features of the DynaDrive S.U.B. are its superior mixing capabilities, mass transfer capabilities, and improved scalability.

These are enabled by a unique stirred-tank design that utilizes a novel drivetrain with multiple impellers. Coupled with our next-generation drilled-hole sparger (DHS), The DynaDrive S.U.B. enables simple scalability and improved gas control. With standard large ports that perfusion systems typically require for connection to cell retention devices, the DynaDrive S.U.B. is specifically designed and ideally suited for high-demand applications like those seen in perfusion cell culture workflows.

The work presented here showcases the improved mass transfer performance seen in the 500 L DynaDrive S.U.B. and associated cell culture work in continuous perfusion mode. We demonstrate the ability of the DynaDrive S.U.B. to easily support cell densities in excess of 100 x 10⁶ cells/mL while utilizing automation with the Thermo Scientific™ G3Pro™ Bioprocess Controller with online single-use sensors that enable easy and accurate control of a continuous culture. This success was enabled by a new perfusion medium, Gibco™ High Intensity Perfusion CHO (HIP CHO) Medium, ultimately creating high productivity cultures even at low medium-exchange rates.