Year: 2015-16

Company: Applikon Biotechnology

Liaison(s): Ann D’Ambruoso, Applikon Biotechnology Richard Hassett, Thermo Fisher Scientific Martin Debreczeny, BugLab

Applikon Biotechnology is a leading company in
the bioprocess equipment industry. It specializes
in advanced small scale and large scale bioreactor
systems used in research and development, process
development, and manufacturing. Founded in 1973
as a subsidiary of the Dutch company Pieterman BV,
Applikon Biotechnology has since brought many new
technologies to the market by offering advantages in
process efficiency. They have minimized scale up-risks
and guarantee the shortest time to market for their
customers’ product development.
Applikon has previously developed the MiniBio
bioreactor systems, a scaled down bioreactor that has
been widely adopted in microbial systems. However,
in order to generate unbiased validation of this system
for mammalian cell culture, scalability studies are
very valuable. These studies were performed by the
Applikon team on a CHO S cell line using media and
a supplementary feed provided by Thermo Fisher.
Total cell density, a parameter that will be monitored
through BugLab’s biomass sensor, will produce a real-
time growth profile of the culture in the MiniBio 500
during the cell culture process.
The Applikon team plans to demonstrate scalability
of a fed-batch process in the MiniBio 500 bioreactor
and a 3L bioreactor using common industry scaling
methods, such as constant power per unit volume.
The team will assess bioreactor performance based on
cell growth and metabolite profiles obtained through
experimental runs. Upon completion of the project,
a comprehensive summary report that includes all
data and analysis from the studies will be given to
Applikon, Thermo Fisher, and BugLab. The team will
also summarize the project for a scientific poster for
Applikon, Thermo Fisher, and BugLab. This can be
used for the companies’ marketing or instructional
purposes.