Automatic Production of Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells

Induced pluripotent stem cells (iPS cells) exhibit unique properties similar to embryonic stem cells (ES cells). A central feature of iPS cells is their pluripotency: they have the potential of growing indefinitely and differentiating into all cell types of the human body. Therefore, essentially unlimited numbers of somatic cells might be generated. Until now, there is a paucity of industrial processes for large scale production of human iPS cells and their differentiated progeny. This is mostly due to the high complexity of the manual processes, which are involved in the production of these cells. To take full advantage of the potential of iPS cell technology there is the need to produce iPS cell lines in high numbers, by employing automation, high throughput techniques and standardized protocols. Therefore we set up a large scale research project to develop a novel automatic production unit for reprogramming, cultivation and differentiation of iPS cells. A key step within the process chain is the automatic selection of primary iPS cell colonies in the culture dish. Within this study central elements of the automation process and quality control are presented.