Allegro™ Microcarrier Delivery System (AMDS)

It has become increasingly evident that closed impeller bioreactors provide an optimal manufacturing solution for vaccines, biologics, and cell therapeutics. The precision controls and small foot print of the reactor coupled with the large surface area for cell culture and growth provided by microcarriers has made these systems a staple in the biotechnology industry where adherent cells are required in large numbers. However, the ease of use of some of the most widely utilized microcarriers has left much to be desired. Some microcarriers available in the market even require pre incubation and several rinses before use. Furthermore, with the advent of single use bioreactors and shift in industry approach towards single-use technologies, traditional approaches to sterilization of microcarriers and their addition to bioreactors need to be revisited. One approach to overcome this hurdle is to use pre-sterilized and ready-to-use microcarriers offered in single-use delivery systems. Eliminating the need for incubating and autoclaving microcarriers prior to use will reduce the preparation time as well as lengthy validations and routine checks of autoclaves and sterilization systems; significantly reducing production times and risks of contaminations, saving pharmaceutical and cellular therapeutic manufacturers effort, time and money.

Herein, we evaluated the Allegro Microcarrier Delivery System (AMDS), a gamma irradiated, ready-to-use microcarrier delivery system to charge single-use bioreactors. The Allegro Microcarrier Delivery System can be used to conveniently deliver gamma sterilized microcarriers into a bioreactor. Using the AMDS we were able to reduce our bioreactor set up time by approximately 3 hours (20%).