Sterility of bioreactors in biotherapeutic processing remains an ongoing challenge as several viral and Mycoplasma contaminations have been recorded over the years. Number of technologies such as gamma or UV-C irradiation or high temperature short time treatment may not be always suitable because of side effects, footprint and scalability issues. Virus removal achieved by ultrafiltration is an attractive alternative. Timeframe limitations in cell culture medium production require high flow rates and capacity of the filters. To meet the criteria the larger membrane areas are necessary, what, however, makes filtration economically unfeasible. Nanocellulose-based ultrafiltration may be the most suitable and cost-efficient virus protection approach with minimal impact on cell culture medium. To assess the interaction with media components, serum-free Lonza Power-CHO media, supplemented with ITS (Insulin, Transferrin and Selenium), was processed through the nanocellulose filters at varying transmembrane pressures. Media components were analysed by SDS-PAGE and ICP analysis. The impact of the filters on cell culture performance was further assessed by CHO cells growth using the alamar blue assay, cells morphology and confluence. Also, virus retention of nanocellulose filters was evaluated by plaque forming units (PFU) assay of spiked ΦΧ174 phage as a surrogate for mammalian parvoviruses. This study suggests that nanocellulose-based size exclusion filters can provide good virus retention, high filtration flux, and no interaction with cell culture medium ingredients.

Nanocellulose-based size exclusion filters as an efficient and convenient virus barrier filter

255th National Meeting (2018)

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