Novel method for quantifying cells on carriers and its demonstration during SARS-2 vaccine development

Area of Science:

• Biotechnology and Bioprocessing
• Vaccine Manufacturing
• Cell Culture Technology

Background:

• Effective infectious disease control relies on vaccines, driving demand for advanced manufacturing strategies.
• Cell-based production requires high cell density, necessitating the use of micro and macro cell carriers.
• Current methods for quantifying cells on carriers are often tedious, destructive, or carrier-specific.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a broadly applicable method for quantifying cells on various carrier types.
• To enable accurate tracking of cell adsorption, proliferation, and viability in cell-based manufacturing.
• To support the development of vaccines, including the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 vaccine.

Main Methods:

• Utilized the Alamar blue dye, a common marker for cell metabolic activity.
• Applied the method to track cell growth and viability on micro and macro cell carriers.
• Avoided cell separation from carriers and the need for specialized equipment.

Main Results:

• The Alamar blue dye method successfully quantified cell numbers, adsorption, growth, and viability on carriers.
• The technique proved to be simple, rapid, and required no specialized equipment or cell separation.
• Demonstrated comprehensive data suitable for process control in viral vaccine production.

Conclusions:

• The Alamar blue dye assay offers a versatile and efficient solution for monitoring cells on carriers.
• This method can be readily implemented in various cell-based production processes and encapsulated cell platforms.
• Provides essential data for optimizing cell-based manufacturing and vaccine development.