Maximising adherent cell production via customisable and dissolvable bio-polymer microcarriers

Large-scale cellular production systems offer a significant and diverse benefit impacting the therapeutic (stem cell and vaccine production) and cellular agriculture (lab-grown meat) sectors. Producing desired cells at mass can improve production yield whilst reducing the environmental and ethical burden associated with industrialised agriculture and production of therapeutic goods. Many existing large-scale cultivation strategies of adherent cells leverage the use of microcarriers (MCs) within bioreactors. However, currently commercial MCs are not dissolvable and lack specificity for different cell types and bioprocessing contexts. In this work, we validate the effectiveness of customisable, polymeric MCs engineered to enhance cell growth and productivity. These MCs, which can be adjusted in terms of stiffness, surface charge, and size, maintain their structural integrity while offering precise property modifications. Under specific bioprocessing conditions, the custom MCs demonstrated significant improvements in cell productivity and sustainability compared to other commercial options. Our study (1) highlights how tailored substrate properties, particularly stiffness, can significantly impact cell yield and outcomes, and (2) suggests additional optimisations in surface charge and size that could further enhance MC technology. These advancements have the potential to improve large-scale cell and virus production efficiency, ultimately reducing the cost of production.