I had the pleasure of attending and blogging from the Bioprocess International Conference in Boston. I always enjoy attending this conference and was particularly impressed with this year’s talks. There were also many interesting product and technologies featured during technology workshops or on display in the exhibit and poster halls. For readers who could not attend the conference or missed wandering the exhibit and poster hall, I have included a brief description of some of the products that caught my eye this year. I have broken the summary into three parts and hope to follow up these brief descriptions with guest blogs to describe some of the products in more detail in the coming months.

GE Healthcare’s ReadyToProcess WAVE 25 Bioreactor

GE Healthcare has launched the new ReadyToProcess WAVE 25 Bioreactor with several new and improved features. After so many years of WAVE Bioreactors being in use, it is interesting to see the many advancements made in this new model. The ReadyToProcess WAVE 25 Bioreactor is designed for working volumes up to 25 liters. It has been developed with improved features including advanced sensors, intelligent control strategies and a system operation managed using UNICORN software. In addition it has a new ergonomic design to allow for easier handling.

They also have several implemented several improvements around process control:

• Application specific PID parameters
• Method editor function for scheduled changes of process conditions
• Accessories to facilitate process intensification; pumps, load cells & auto-calibration function
• Intuitive user interface, help screens, set up support
• Remote monitoring – / App

Roche’s Cedex Bio HT Bioprocess Analyzer

I was able to attend a talk on Roche’s Cedex Bio HT Bioprocess Analyzer, presented by Becky Moore, Ph.D., Supervisor, Gibco BioProduction – R&D, Life Technologies. Dr. Moore provided a very insightful overview of the process by which Life Technologies’ selected Roche’s Cedex Bio HT to conduct their cell culture analysis. During the presentation, Dr. Moore walked through the various experiments conducted and evaluations made in the decision process. The Cedex Bio HT can conduct metabolite screening, substrate analysis, and fermentation analysis.

Some key features of the system include:

• High quality and reliability
  • Very low variability – less than 5% between instruments and reagent lots
  • Consistent results
• Low maintenance required
  • Automated daily maintenance
  • Only around 100 minutes of maintenance per year
• Ease and speed of use
  • Minimal hands-on time for “walk away” use
  • 90 samples can be loaded at once with continuous sample loading
  • Automated pre and post dilution options

Thermo Fisher Scientific’s Hycell TransFX Cell Culture Media Platform

At the Thermo Fisher Scientific booth, I learned that they have developed a new portfolio of animal-derived component-free and serum-free media for use in transient transfection. The portfolio includes HyCell TransFX-H, intended for use with HEK293 cells and HyCell TransFX-C for use in CHO cells. The new media is designed to maximize transfection efficiencies and viable post-transfection cell density. The new media is optimized to eliminate the need to change or supplement the media, while still providing significant improvements in productivity during the transient transfection process.

Tap Biosystems’ ambr Microscale Bioreactor System

One of the talks that I attended mentioned Tap Biosystems’ ambr Microscale Bioreactor System as one of the tools that they use in cell line development and process optimization. The system mimics classic bioreactors but at much smaller scale, 10-15 ml. The system allows for 24-48 disposable micro bioreactors that are controlled by an automated workstation. By using ambr, several bioreactor cultures can be run simultaneously to test various conditions to test for cell line development, media feed strategies, cell line stability, and process robustness, all at reduced scale and cost.