DEVELOPMENT OF A NEW PROBE FOR IN-SITU OXYGEN UPTAKE RATE (OUR) MEASUREMENT IN MAMMALIAN CELL CULTURE PROCESSES

We have developed a new probe that measures the oxygen uptake rate (OUR) of mammalian cells, an important indicator for the metabolic state, inside the reactor (in-situ) and in real-time without the need for sampling or complicated analytics. The probe isolates a known volume of cell culture from the bulk inside the bioreactor, monitors the oxygen consumption over time and releases it again. The sample is mixed during the measurement with a new agitation system to keep the cells in suspension and prevent oxygen concentration gradients. The OUR measurement system also doubles as a standard DO probe for process monitoring when it is not performing OUR measurements. This new probe was successfully tested in BHK perfusion cell cultures.