Development and evaluation of orbital rocking motion-based single-use cell culture system, the CELBIC® system

The importance of a single-use bioreactor (SUB) is continuously increasing in research and industrial fields for biopharmaceutical production. In this study, a newly developed SUB system, the CELBIC® system, applied with the unique agitation method is introduced, and its physical properties and biological applications are evaluated. The mixing time was in the range of 11.0–129.0 s, and the volumetric mass transfer coefficient, kLa, measured through surface aeration, was in the range of 2.7–15.5 h−1 at a working volume of 1–10 L. Biological evaluations using two Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cell lines, CHO-DG44 and CHO-S cell, were carried out in the CELBIC® systems in 1 and 50 L scales, showing similar cell culture performance as that from stirred tank-type bioreactors. These results support the CELBIC® system as a new SUB system applicable to cell cultures for biopharmaceutical production.