Control of IgG glycosylation by in situ and real-time estimation of specific growth rate of CHO cells cultured in bioreactor

The cell-specific growth rate (mu) is a critical process parameter for antibody production processes performed by animal cell cultures, as it describes the cell growth and reflects the cell physiological state. When there are changes in these parameters, which are indicated by variations of mu, the synthesis and the quality of antibodies are often affected. Therefore, it is essential to monitor and control the variations of mu to assure the antibody production and achieve high product quality. In this study, a novel approach for on-line estimation of mu was developed based on the process analytical technology initiative by using an in situ dielectric spectroscopy. Critical moments, such as significant mu decreases, were successfully detected by this method, in association with changes in cell physiology as well as with an accumulation of nonglycosylated antibodies. Thus, this method was used to perform medium renewals at the appropriate time points, maintaining the values of mu close to its maximum. Using this method, we demonstrated that the physiological state of cells remained stable, the quantity and the glycosylation quality of antibodies were assured at the same time, leading to better process performances compared with the reference feed-harvest cell cultures carried out by using off-line nutrient measurements.