Advanced Cell Culture Laboratory

The advanced cell culture laboratory supports practical sessions with a self-directed learning focus to reinforce concepts in molecular biology and bioreactor design and operations through hands-on experimentation tools and equipment that simulate industrial environments. Throughout the lab sessions, process safety, aseptic techniques and cGMP concepts will be practiced. Following industrial practices, postgraduate students will first be trained to perform large scale cell culture media preparation using mechanical pumps, filtration, tube wielders and tube sealers. Next, cell inoculum for later stage bioreactor operation will be cultivated in a series of expansion procedures in tissue flask cultures and eventually transferred to glass and advanced single-use bioreactors. The glass bioreactors are typically used in process development industrial laboratories. The advanced single-use bioreactors represent the state of the art in the biopharmaceutical industries in which low-cost and highly flexible disposable systems are used for mammalian cell expansion and monoclonal antibodies production. Postgraduate students enrolled in this module will be trained to assemble and operate both bioreactor types.