Efficient lipid delivery to hybridoma culture by use of cyclodextrin in a novel granulated dry-form medium technology

Lipids are critical nutrients for high density eukaryotic cell cultivation, but inclusion of lipid components into dry-form media has been technically challenging. Lipid supplements are usually supplied for separate addition after powder reconstitution and filtration, which increases manipulation and risk in a biopharmaceutical manufacturing facility. Advanced Granulation Technology (AGT) is a novel dry-form media format designed for large-scale biopharmaceutical manufacture. All components of a complex formulation are homogeneously incorporated into a single granulated medium that simply requires water addition to yield a complete reconstituted 1X medium. We investigated whether cyclodextrin technology could be combined with the AGT process to deliver usable lipid in a dry medium format. The test lipids were cholesterol and several fatty acids supplied either as an aseptic supplement to liquid media or as part of a complete AGT formulation. The test system utilized a cholesterol auxotroph, NS0, and a protein-free basal formulation (CD Hybridoma Medium), with or without supplemental lipid. Post-filtration recovery of cholesterol from AGT-processed materials compared favorably with media supplemented with liquid lipid concentrates. Cell growth and viability and expression of recombinant protein were equivalent in all test media.