Capacitance Technology Enables Automated Feeding, Improved Expansion, and Higher Throughput of CAR-T Cell...

Area of Science:

• Biotechnology and Bioprocessing
• Cell and Gene Therapy Manufacturing
• Process Analytical Technology (PAT)

Background:

• Chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy shows promise for hematological malignancies but faces manufacturing challenges.
• Current CAR-T cell expansion relies on manual methods, limiting control, scalability, and increasing contamination risks.
• Bioreactor integration is crucial for CAR-T cell production, yet real-time monitoring methods are scarce.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate capacitance technology for reliable, on-line cell concentration measurement in CAR-T cell bioprocesses.
• To demonstrate the automation of feeding strategies using capacitance-derived triggers.
• To assess the impact of capacitance-guided automation on CAR-T cell bioprocess performance.

Main Methods:

• Compared capacitance technology for T-cell and CAR-T cell cultures against Chinese Hamster Ovary (CHO) cell cultures.
• Assessed the accuracy of capacitance for determining cell concentrations in real-time.
• Implemented automated feeding strategies triggered by capacitance measurements.

Main Results:

• Capacitance technology accurately measured CAR-T cell concentrations.
• Automated feeding based on capacitance data improved bioprocess performance.
• Key performance indicators such as cell concentration and throughput were enhanced.

Conclusions:

• Capacitance technology is a viable Process Analytical Technology (PAT) for monitoring CAR-T cell manufacture.
• This technology enables enhanced process control, scalability, and automation in cell and gene therapy production.
• Future applications include remote monitoring, harvest control, and large-scale data generation for process optimization.