A new surface coating technology facilitates the use of continuous bioprocessing techniques in the manufacturing of human adherent cells. The peptide amphiphile surface coating is reportedly capable of controlling the attachment, proliferation, and subsequent self-detachment of human corneal stromal cells. This development is expected to enable high-throughput, high-standard, and low-cost biomanufacturing of cell-based therapies, according to Newcastle University researchers.
Their research, which was published yesterday in ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces, details the development of a coating that allows individual stromal cells to "peel away" from the surface on which they are grown. This creates more space so that further cells can grow in their place—continuously. The team has also demonstrated that the process works across a range of stromal cells including mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs).
"This allows us to move away, for the first time, from the batch production of cells to an unremitting process. Remarkably, with this continuous production technique even a culture surface the size of a penny can, over a period of time, generate the same number of cells as a much larger-sized flask,” explains Che Connon, professor of tissue engineering and author of the paper.
"This concept also represents an important innovation for cell-based therapies, where treatments can require up to a billion cells per patient. With our new technology, one square meter would produce enough cells to treat 4,000 patients, while traditional methods would require an area equivalent to a football pitch,” Connon says.
Traditionally, cells have been grown in the lab over the surface area of a flask and then detached chemically or enzymatically for use. The cells are created in batches, with batch size limited to the area upon which the cells are grown.
"Our new technology also offers complete control over the rate of cell production, so it could be scaled up using existing stacked culture flasks to produce one billion cells per week, or scaled down so as to fit a bioreactor on the head of a pin," Connon adds.