With the rapid development and continuous innovation in life sciences over the last few decades, it has become a common technology to extract cells from animal tissues and culture them in vitro on a large scale, so as to express monoclonal antibodies, specific proteins, interferons and viral vaccine products. Typical cell culture as mentioned above begins with cell thawing and recovery, followed by cell expansion through successive passaging cultures. When the volume and density reach a predetermined level, the cells will be transferred to a bioreactor for further growth and product expression.

Despite its extensive use, there are still many challenges in the process. The first challenge of such large scale cultivation comes from the spinner bottle. A doze of merits though spinner bottle has as a mature technology, for instance, low investment, simple structure, and simple expansion method (purely more bottles involved ), it is difficult to get industrialized or scaled up due to its demerits including high labor-intensity, larger plant footprint, low yield, low cell growth density and the bottle-to-bottle inconformity which is difficult to control, etc..

The second challenge comes from another type of container—bioreactor. It is undeniable that bioreactors are reusable and easy to operate, and can significantly improve the yield in a limited space. The truth is that the shear force generated inside reduces the cell viability. Besides, it is difficult to separate microcarriers from cells, where cell clustering may occur and prevent cells from scaling up when they grow into a certain size. Therefore, the application of spinner bottles is confined to a comparatively small area .

The third challenge lies in the time span. If stored in the conventional cell banks, the number of cells in the cryogenic vials is small but the time required is long. The bioreactors applied in industrial production are so large that more medium-sized containers are supplemented to expand the seed cells, which takes more time and make the process even more complicated.

NEST BioFactory ^TM offers a new cell culture option

The NEST BioFactory ^TM is an ingeniously designed culture vessel for adherent cells in industries of large scale production, including vaccines, monoclonal antibodies and biopharmaceuticals. It provides the maximum culture area in a limited space, thus significantly saving valuable factory footprint and boosting the capacity of cost-effective production. And the linear scaling up involved doesn't alter the kinetic conditions of cell growth.

1 1-layer NEST BioFactory

= 85 T75 Cell Culture Flask

= 36 T175 Cell Culture Flask

The table shows that the culture area of 40-layer BioFactory ^TM is much larger than that of the spinner bottles, but takes up less space .

The table shows that the 40-layer cell factory ha s higher efficiency in both automat ic and manual operation modes .

Benefiting from NEST 's years of experience in surface technologies , NEST BioFactory ^TM is well recognized around the world and is widely applied in large-scale cell cultures, including Vero, MRC-5, 2BS, 293T, L-929 and MSC, etc. Now, in order to improve the user experience and meet customer demand, NEST has launched a wave of new upgrades to BioFactory ^TM.

Upgrade 1: Enhanced firmness

Apparently, the ultimate pressure of NEST 10-layer BioFactory ^TM is more than 10Kpa, which is much bigger than other brands.

1. The mouth is welded to the body by integral injection molding, which enables better sealing performance and mechanical strength.

Sample A/B/C are from other brands , non-integral injection mold ed and easy to leak .

2. The top layer was welded by ultrasonic physical wave and adhesive dispensing . The second and the third layer are thickened to carry the punching pressure of the poured liquid. The smart design of the welding line increases the firmness while avoiding the generation of welding particles.

Upgrade 2: Thoughtful packaging

1. More airtight and flat inner condition. The independent aseptic double-layer packaging ensures air-tightness. And the newly added blister holder can perfectly prevent the stacked BioFactories ^TM from slipping.

2. Safer, more environmentally friendly and convenient.The built-in protective layer keeps the contents intact during the long-distance transportation. The outer paper box uses easy-to-tear environmentally friendly tape, allowing easy unpacking without getting dust-stained hands. Handles are specifically added to the 10-layer and 40-layer BioFactory ^TM boxes to facilitate the transport and storage.

Upgrade 3: Unique wide mouths design

The large - diameter wide mouth connecting multiple layers can quickly channel the culture medium in a comparatively shorter time, ensuring cell viability.

NEST BioFactories ^TM are now available in two wide mouths, two narrow mouth, one wide mouth+one small mouth.

Upgrade 4: Optimized details

1. Unique traceability code for identity : each BioFactory ^TM is assigned a unique traceability code for identity information , allowing relevant detailed information to be retrieved instantly.

2. New lateral scale: The scale marks on the side leave no dead angle throughout the 360 degrees, making observation on automation equipment more convenient .

3. Adjustment to the 200ml scale mark : For those with two wide mouths, the 200ml scale mark is at the reinforcing rib, making it more intuitive to position the 200ml when adding liquid.