Animal cell pilot plant
Contact us
If you need help conducting research and development for your biotechnology or biopharmaceutical project, we have the solution you’re looking for. To access our advanced scientific infrastructure or to connect with our experts, contact:
Chun Fang Shen
Telephone: 514-496-7881
Email: ChunFang.Shen@cnrc-nrc.gc.ca
Targeted industries
Biotechnology, biopharmaceutics.
Location
Research facility highlights
Animal cell process development, scale up and production facility equipped with bioreactors up to 150L working volume.
The Animal Cell Pilot Plant provides a platform for process-development and scale-up for the production of bioactive compounds that use animal cell expression systems. It also offers services to companies that already have a fully developed process but lack production capacity.
The facility has been extensively used by biotechnology companies for large-scale recombinant protein production, viral vector, and vaccine production and purification. Over the past several decades, it has achieved successful process optimization and scale-up with several cell lines, using expression systems such as stable cell lines, transient transfection and viral infection. Its capabilities include bench-scale process optimization and scale-up to 500L working volume.
What we offer
Animal cell pilot scale production facility equipped with bioreactors up to 500L working volume.
Our multi-disciplinary team of cell biologists, purification experts and biochemical engineers have extensive experience in medium development, enabling you to further optimize culture media and develop feeding strategies to improve product yield. Areas of expertise include cell culture in bioreactors, process optimization and scale-up, culture medium development, viral infection processes, virus recovery and purification, and HPLC and cell-based assays.
We excel at working with monitoring tools to develop control strategies for animal cell culture processes. We also provide services to develop tailored analytical assays, offering a smooth transition between the bench-scale process optimization and the 500L pilot scale. Our fellow experts from the Protein Production and Viral Vector Production teams support the development and optimization of your expression systems at small scale.
Pilot plant’s main services
- Development and scale-up of batch, fed-batch or perfusion cell culture processes up to 500L scale for either Risk Group 1 or Risk Group 2 biological agents
- Scale-up of viral production and purification processes
- Scale-up of transient transfection processes
- Development of cell culture media and feeding strategies for process optimization
- In-process assay development
- Customized hands-on training on bioreactor operation up to 500L scale
Facility charactertistics
- A perfusion suite from 3L to 20L
- A 175 sq. m ‘Containment Level 2 Large Scale’ facility including several segregated suites for medium and seed preparation, production and for the purification of bioproduct from 20L up to 500L scale
- Cell culture equipment: bench-top bioreactor systems with working volumes from 3L to 20L; two intermediate scale bioreactor systems (50L); 1 pilot scale bioreactor system (150L); 1 pilot to process scale bioreactor system (500L); online biomass monitoring tools
- Cell separation devices: continuous centrifugation systems (20 to 100L/hr throughput); several acoustic filtration units (perfusion; 10 to 200 L/d)
- Product concentration and purification: a continuous ultracentrifugation system, tangential flow filtration units, an automated system for filtration and chromatographic process operation, multiple chromatography columns up to 45 cm in diameter, and a validated storage for working cell banks
Why work with us?
Our lab’s combination of services, equipment and expertise is distinctive in Canada. Not only that, but the versatility of our team and equipment enables us to provide customized solutions for each client, whether the goal is to develop a new process or to closely mimic an existing one. We can also partner with other NRC groups to provide integrated process development, from gene expression to purified and characterized bio-products for preclinical studies.
By making use of this remarkable facility, you will be in a position to benefit from the experience of our esteemed experts and equipment.
Fees
Fees vary depending on the project and your requirements. Please contact one of our experts today to discuss how we can help.
Contact
Chun Fang Shen
Telephone: 514-496-7881
Email: ChunFang.Shen@cnrc-nrc.gc.ca
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