Tissueflex® Cell Culture Technology - Isis Project No 2167
Researchers in the Department of Engineering have developed innovative small-scale bioreactors for cell and tissue culture that give greatly improved reliability and reproducibility of results, while requiring minimum operators’ intervention.
Background
Culturing cells and tissues is a core activity in medical and biological sciences and is typically carried out in cell culture flasks or microwell plates. Successful cell culture has a number of basic requirements, including sufficient nutrients, gas exchange (oxygen in, carbon dioxide out), and sterile conditions to ensure the culture is not contaminated. As traditional cell culture vessels are essentially closed (batch or semi-batch) systems, the culture conditions change with time and cells could become starved of nutrients over time. For longer culture studies regular change of growth media is required; this does not eliminate the culture condition fluctuation and also risks contamination. Successful culture of three-dimensional tissue has additional requirements including a supporting scaffold, and nutrient supply to all parts of the bulk tissue.
The Oxford Invention
Engineers at the University have developed simple but highly sophisticated bioreactors, which provide an ideal environment for cell culture. TissueFlex® bioreactors are:
- Perfused: steady state nutrients supply and and waste removal without contamination;
- Gas permeable: good gas exchange again without any risk of contamination;
- Transparent: allowing ready observation of the cells and optically based bioassays;
- Self-sealing: the walls can be injected through to inoculate or sample the culture without having to open the culture vessel;
- Versatile: suitable for multiwell plate format, high throughput applications using commercial equipment;
- Flexible: allowing mechanical stimulus e.g. for musculoskeletal cell culture;
- Sterilisable: by standard methods;
- Scaffold for three-dimensional tissue growth can easily be included.
The TissueFlex® bioreactors have been shown to give substantially greater cell viability than static culture and this is achieved with excellent control of physiologically relevant parameters such as pH and nutrient concentration.
Commercial Opportunity and Patent Status
A patent application has recently been filed to protect this work. Isis would be keen to talk to companies interested in developing the commercial opportunities for this technology.
Request Further Information: Project Number 2167 - Tissueflex® Cell Cultured Technology