Microfluidic devices for study the growth of monoclonal antibody producing cells

MARINA SIERRA; CRISTIAN PAYÉS; ANA PEÑAHERRERA; CARLOS LASORSA; CLAUDIO BERLI; BETIANA LERNER; GUSTAVO HELGUERA; MAXIMILIANO PÉREZ

Buenos Aires

Congreso; II International Congress in Translational Medicine; 2015

The production of monoclonal antibodies for therapeutic use is one of the fastest growing areas in the biopharmaceutical industry. In 2011, the production of therapeutic recombinant proteins was estimated at $56 billion, with an estimated projection of more than $ 80 billion by 2015. Currently, the commercial production of monoclonal antibodies and other biotherapeutics is based on the synthesis in bioreactors with suspended mammalian cells with agitation operated in fed-batch or perfusion mode [1-2]. The production of monoclonal antibodies in these stirred tanks faced challenges related to product quality and process such as demand for higher productivity, control of glycosylation, reproducibility, and other process controls. Most of these challenges are related to the large spatial and temporal variability of the intrinsic conditions of the fermenters. One way to improve the control is to reduce the scale of the system by miniaturization in the form of micro devices [3]. A micro device offers several advantages, including shorter time response, a higher surface / volume ratio and a more homogeneous and controllable microenvironment.The objective of this work was study the effect of the microchip geometry for the growth of HEK-293T cells, which are antibody production cells [4]. A Chip design with different serpentine shapes of 100 ìm wide and lengths between 12 mm and 80 mm was used. Feed by a central channel of 40x1.9 mm (length x width), and spacers channels of 12 x1,2mm (length x width) between serpentines. The height of all channels was 40 ìm.