Challenges in scaling up a perfusion process

Introduction Perfusion process involves retention of the cells inside the bioreactor while simultaneously removing spent medium and adding fresh medium continuously. The flow rate of addition of fresh and removal of spent medium are generally kept the same (perfusion rate) to maintain the culture volume inside the bioreactor. Cell retention is possible with many devices but the reliability and consistency in performance of these devices remains a major challenge for design, operation and scale-up of perfusion processes. For a filtration based retention device, successful scale up depends on cell retention efficiency, prevention of filter fouling and the similarity of perfusion equipment between small and large scale. We present a case study where a perfusion process from a 2L (Liter) bioreactor is scaled up to manufacturing scale of 1KL (Kilo Litre).