Production of monoclonal antibodies for breast cancer by HB8696 hybridoma cells using novel perfusion system

•A novel non-woven Bombyx mori silk screen based spinfilter has been designed.•It provides clog-free extended perfusion culture of hybridoma cells.•It enhances the MAb productivity by 57.4% compared to stainless-steel spinfilter.•In optimized perfusion conditions 1.6 g L−1 day−1 of MAb productivity was achieved.•Its cylindrical membrane supporting spinfilter module is reusable and versatile.

Perfusion culture using spinfilters have been used for the production of health-care products using mammalian cells culture. However, available spinfilters are either highly prone to clog and/or are disposable and hence affects product formation. To address these problems, a novel non-woven Bombyx mori silk screen based spinfilter module for clog-free extended perfusion culture of hybridoma cells has been designed. The module is versatile in nature and reusable, after autoclaving and replacement of used polymeric membrane. Its application for clog-free extended perfusion culture was demonstrated by comparative perfusion experiments of HB8696 cells with stainless-steel spinfilter. HB8696 cells produce monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) 520C9 active against breast cancer oncoprotein. Silk spinfilter was found to be less prone to clog with cells and debris owing to its negatively charged hydrophobic screen compared to the positively charged hydrophilic stainless-steel spinfilter. Therefore, it provides extended cell growth phase and production phase of up to 56 h and 40 h respectively and 57.4% increase in MAb productivity compared to the stainless-steel spinfilter. The effect of different perfusion rates on MAb production was studied and an optimal MAb productivity of 1.6 g L−1 day−1 was achieved.

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