Use of Plant Peptone-Containing Serum-Free Media for the Cultivation of CHO Cells in Suspension and on Microcarriers

Abstract

Chinese Hamster Ovary (CHO) cells are often used as a host cell in the production of biologically active recombinant proteins. In order to obtain highly purified glycoproteins, devoid of biological contamination, the biotechnological sector aims to cultivate rCHO cells in the absence of any product of animal origin. Therefore, the development of serumfree culture media formulations that allow to reach high viability and productivity levels remains a priority. Recendy, plant-derived peptones have emerged as medium additives and represent a low-cost alternative to the use of chemically-defined media. The purpose of this work was to develop peptone-containing serum-free media formulations achieving high cell density growth and productivity for CHO cells cultivated in suspension and on Fibra-Cel™ microcarriers.