Starting Them Up, Keeping Them Running
Cell culture incorporates diverse, broad-ranging
operations for maintaining, expanding,
and utilizing cells grown outside their natural
milieu. All forms of cell culture share common
operations, but the term “cell culture” has come to
denote cultures derived from multicell, eukaryotic
(possessing nuclei) organisms such as humans,
animals, and, less commonly, insects. Bacterial
and yeast cultures are often referred to as
fermentations, the biological process through
which beer (by yeast) and yogurt (bacteria)
are manufactured. Fermentations tend to be
of shorter duration than cell cultures because
bacteria and yeast can double every 30 minutes,
while animal cells take up to 24 hours to divide.
A Solid Chain of Custody is the Top Priority
After applications and processes, workflow optimization is the primary consideration when setting up a cell culture lab. Workflow relates to how samples and cultures move through the lab, the number of operations going on simultaneously, and chain of custody. “Particularly with cell culture, having a tight understanding of where and how things move through the facility protects you against cross-contamination and enables troubleshooting for unusual or unexpected occurrences,” says Bryan Monroe, principal at Primus Consulting (Kingston, WA). Primus advises on cell culture facility design, process scaleup, and technology transfer. “Lacking that understanding makes it difficult to see how and why things are not going right with equipment, reagents, and everything affecting your process.” Companies that overlook these issues will regret it later, Monroe adds. “A solid chain of custody is a top priority.”
Usage and Layout Optimized to Workflows is Critical
Isolating facility and layout from equipment during planning and maintenance of a cell culture lab
entails considerable risk, if for no other reason than the latter must fit into the former.
