Reproducible cell growth and reliable development of a desired product are ideal outcomes for a bioprocessing engineer. If reproducibility is poor, the risk of needing to discard a batch and repeat an entire bioprocess is high and results in a great loss of time and resources. Cells, culture media, and a bioprocess control system are required components of an upstream bioprocess. Each of those can be a source of variability that affects cell growth and viability as well as product…
Upstream bioprocessing in perfusion mode holds great promise for industrial production of cells and biologics. In perfusion, fresh medium is added constantly to the bioreactor, and used medium is harvested while the cells are retained in the bioreactor. As a result, the composition of the cell culture medium stays quite constant during the process. This offers several advantages. In perfusion, higher cell densities can be reached than in batch and fed-batch processes, therefore enhancing volumetric productivity. Because medium composition can…