New closed batch harvest method for mammalian cells

When it’s time to harvest your cell cultures, you want to take every step to ensure you maximize the size and viability of your harvest. After all, today’s fast-paced pharmaceutical bioprocessing work demands the highest possible volumes for success. So, you may pause over the different options available, especially if you handle fragile mammalian cell lines. But the size (density and concentration) and viability of the harvested material aren’t the only considerations. Modern filtration systems still take up a lot of space in a research lab. The footprint of a batch centrifuge can be significantly less than a filtration system, after all, and in the precious real estate of a lab, size difference must also be a contributing factor in your decision-making.

Let’s take a look at why batch centrifugation is the method of choice for maximizing your harvest of mammalian cells.

While filtering may still be a common and familiar separation method, it is not without its risks, especially with delicate mammalian cell lines. Filtration works by segregating particles based on size — an appropriate strategy when attempting to remove contaminants from your cell samples or media. It can also be useful in circumstances where you wish to preserve the culturing medium but not the cells themselves.

Batch centrifugation, on the other hand, segregates cells from other materials by working with the density of the particles, it is effective for materials across the spectrum of density. Cells are efficiently separated from their medium with minimal disruption, allowing the supernatant to be discarded with minimal waste. Today’s batch centrifuges work with a low g-force appropriate to preserve a high volume of mammalian cells without disrupting the delicate work of the laboratory.

With today’s applications focusing on accelerated results for customized treatments, batch centrifugation is ideal for the smaller-batch work that would be impractical with a filtration system. Batches from 3L to max 300L are ideal for the application. Batch centrifuges that are effective at gentle separation with low shear force are ideal for successful, high-throughput bioprocessing.

The same qualities that make batch centrifugation ideal for mammalian cell applications make it the best strategy for bacterial work, and the relatively low cost of batch centrifuges also make them manageable for even a smaller organization’s budget.

The decisions necessary to outfit your lab are myriad, but if you’re working with mammalian cell samples batch centrifuges are a necessary part of any lab setup. Thermo Fisher Scientific has lab centrifuge options to meet today’s bioprocessing needs.