Cell Identification, Characterization, and Documentation for Use in the Production of Biological Products

There is always a concern about the quality of cell-based products in terms of the contamination of the cells and their lack of efficiency. Therefore, it is of prime importance to ensure these cells' identity, purity, efficacy, and suitability for the production of biological products and diagnostic uses. Hence, cells must be identified, evaluated, documented, and stored to be used consistently and efficiently. With these conditions, vaccine manufacturers have a suitable reserve of efficient and valuable cells for the production and quality control of biological products. In this review article, a strategic plan was drawn for cell-substrate well-characterization and identification according to scientific principles, the author's work experience, and regulatory guidance for the optimal use of that cell in research and diagnostic studies especially for the biological product production process. For this purpose, all aspects of cell identification, cell evaluation, and cell characterization are discussed. Because of the importance of cell identity in the competence of a cell substrate, in the cell identification section, all aspects of cell identification, including general cell information and specific cell characteristics, especially in terms of cell passage history, cell storage conditions, and cell coding and labeling, were studied. In the part of cell evaluation and determination of cell characteristics, all required tests to determine cell characteristics from various aspects, including determination of cell identity, cell growth conditions, cell quality, efficiency, and the possibility of cell contamination with adventitious agents, including cellular, viral, bacterial, mycoplasma, and mycobacterial agents were introduced. Due to the importance of endogenous virus contamination, this topic is specially discussed. In addition, the stability of the cell both from the aspect of genetic stability and from the aspect of stability of cell efficiency, were discussed. In the end, while reviewing the necessary documents to be under the control of the cell for use in the laboratory, based on the studies conducted, the certificate of the cell has been compiled. Therefore, on this basis, the studied cell can be used for research and diagnostic studies of virology, especially for the production and quality control of biological products.