Cell-based vaccines

Cell-based vaccines are a crucial segment of the biopharmaceutical and biotechnology industries. Unlike microbial vaccine production, which often uses bacteria or yeast for antigen expression, cell-based vaccines utilize cultured mammalian, avian, or insect cells. This allows for the growth of viruses that traditional microbial methods cannot support, offering precise antigen expression and post-translational modifications.

Cell-based vaccines

Cell-based vaccines are a crucial segment of the biopharmaceutical and biotechnology industries. Unlike microbial vaccine production, which often uses bacteria or yeast for antigen expression, cell-based vaccines utilize cultured mammalian, avian, or insect cells. This allows for the growth of viruses that traditional microbial methods cannot support, offering precise antigen expression and post-translational modifications.
cell-based vaccine production

Optimizing cell-based vaccine production in early R&D and process development 

In the early R&D and process development phases, cell-based vaccine production involves optimizing cell lines, growth conditions, and bioreactor configurations to maximize yield and efficacy. This meticulous optimization ensures the consistencyquality and economics of the final vaccine product. Unlike microbial vaccines, cell-based vaccines offer unique advantages, including post-translational modifications and precise antigen expression, significantly enhancing clinical research models for efficacy and safety. 


Challenges in cell-based vaccine production

Inline SVG icon

Process consistency

Ensuring process consistency is pivotal for cell-based vaccine production due to the significant impact that variability in cell culture conditions, such as nutrient supply, pH, temperature, and oxygen levels, can have on vaccine quality and yield. Key challenges include maintaining genetic stability and consistent behavior across different cell lines, as they may respond differently to the same conditions. Precise control of environmental conditions is essential to maintain consistent cell growth and protein expression, as even minor deviations can lead to variability in vaccine efficacy and safety​.

Inline SVG icon

Quality control

Quality control is important for ensuring the safety and efficacy of vaccines. This involves rigorous testing and monitoring throughout various stages of production. Upstream processes focus on maintaining product quality by optimizing cell culture conditions, ensuring proper protein expression, and verifying the biological activity of the vaccine. This includes confirming correct protein folding, glycosylation patterns, and functional activity.

Inline SVG icon

Post-translational modifications

One of the primary challenges in developing cell-based vaccines is the complexity of post-translational modifications (PTMs) essential for protein folding and glycosylation. These modifications, particularly glycosylation, are crucial for the antigen's immunogenicity and functionality. Ensuring that these modifications are accurately reproduced cells poses a significant challenge for researchers. The variability in PTMs can result in product heterogeneity, impacting the vaccine's efficacy and safety. This variability requires careful monitoring and control throughout the production process to maintain consistency in the final product​.

Inline SVG icon

Process consistency

Ensuring process consistency is pivotal for cell-based vaccine production due to the significant impact that variability in cell culture conditions, such as nutrient supply, pH, temperature, and oxygen levels, can have on vaccine quality and yield. Key challenges include maintaining genetic stability and consistent behavior across different cell lines, as they may respond differently to the same conditions. Precise control of environmental conditions is essential to maintain consistent cell growth and protein expression, as even minor deviations can lead to variability in vaccine efficacy and safety​.

Inline SVG icon

Quality control

Quality control is important for ensuring the safety and efficacy of vaccines. This involves rigorous testing and monitoring throughout various stages of production. Upstream processes focus on maintaining product quality by optimizing cell culture conditions, ensuring proper protein expression, and verifying the biological activity of the vaccine. This includes confirming correct protein folding, glycosylation patterns, and functional activity.

Inline SVG icon

Post-translational modifications

One of the primary challenges in developing cell-based vaccines is the complexity of post-translational modifications (PTMs) essential for protein folding and glycosylation. These modifications, particularly glycosylation, are crucial for the antigen's immunogenicity and functionality. Ensuring that these modifications are accurately reproduced cells poses a significant challenge for researchers. The variability in PTMs can result in product heterogeneity, impacting the vaccine's efficacy and safety. This variability requires careful monitoring and control throughout the production process to maintain consistency in the final product​.

INFORS HT solutions for cell-based vaccine production



Incubator shaker

Multitron

The INFORS HT Multitron incubator shaker supports early-stage cell-based vaccine development by providing precise climate control, including temperature, CO2, and humidity regulation, alongside consistent agitation. These features create optimal conditions for cell growth and protein expression, including post-translational modifications like glycosylation. The Multitron's ability to maintain reproducible growth conditions is crucial for preliminary studies and initial screening processes in vaccine research. 

While not directly involved in large-scale production or regulatory compliance, the Multitron's reliability in maintaining consistent conditions contributes to the quality and reproducibility of early-stage research results. This consistency is valuable for researchers as they identify promising candidates and establish initial protocols. 

The Multitron is particularly suited for screening multiple conditions and generating pre-cultures for subsequent bioreactor studies. It serves as an important tool in the drug discovery and early development phases, preparing the groundwork for more advanced process development and scale-up studies that typically occur in bioreactor systems. 

Incubator shaker

Minitron

The INFORS HT Minitron incubator shaker is a valuable instrument in early-stage cell-based vaccine development. It provides precise agitation to promote uniform growth conditions, which is important for consistent cell culture outcomes. The Minitron creates controlled environments with optimized temperature and gas exchange, helping to maintain quality and reduce variability in preliminary studies. 

This incubator shaker supports growth conditions that can influence post-translational modifications, potentially affecting antigen functionality. While not directly involved in large-scale production, the Minitron's compact design makes it suitable for space-constrained laboratories. It can be effectively incorporated into early research workflows, supporting initial screening and optimization studies with reliability and efficiency. 

The Minitron's role is particularly significant in the initial phases of vaccine research, where it can help researchers establish baseline conditions and identify promising candidates for further development in more advanced systems. 

Bench-top bioreactor

Minifors 2

The Minifors 2 bench-top bioreactor supports cell-based vaccine development by regulating parameters such as pH, temperature, and dissolved oxygen. This control helps optimize cell growth and protein expression. Its design allows for scaling from research to pilot-scale production, aiding process development. The Minifors 2's monitoring and control systems enable researchers to adjust cultivation conditions, which can affect vaccine antigen yield and quality. This bioreactor is suitable for various cell types, supporting the development of both viral vector and recombinant protein-based vaccines.

Featured blog article

Advancing mRNA vaccine development with Multitron incubator shaker

In recent years, mRNA (messenger RNA) technology has emerged as a groundbreaking tool in the field of medicine, revolutionizing the way we approach disease prevention and treatment. This cutting-edge technology holds tremendous promise for combating a wide range of diseases, including infectious diseases, cancer and genetic disorders.

Related articles

Blog
03 abr. 20256 min read0
60 stories for 60 years

A legacy of customer-centered excellence: For six decades, INFORS HT has built a legacy rooted in customer commitment, innovation, and lasting partnerships. To celebrate this milestone, we are sharing 60 Stories for 60 Years: a collection of inspiring stories from around the world that highlight the people and moments that define INFORS HT. Explore stories that showcase our people and culture, nemorable moments, growth and innovation, and customer successes, each reflecting our dedication to putting customers first. Join us in celebrating the relationships and breakthroughs that have shaped our journey.

05 mar. 202546 min read
Studies of polyol production by the yeast Yarrowia lipolytica growing on crude glycerol under stressful conditions

Researchers from the University of Athens have successfully harnessed crude glycerol, a biodiesel by-product, as a substrate for producing valuable compounds like polyols and yeast biomass. Their study highlights the adaptability of wild-type Yarrowia lipolytica strains under low pH, low temperature, and non-aseptic conditions, offering a sustainable approach to bio-based production.

19 feb. 20256 min read10
Back to Basics: Setting the right shaker parameters for cultivation success

In bioprocessing, selecting the right shaker parameters is essential for optimizing the growth and productivity of various organisms, including bacteria, yeast, and mammalian cells. By fine-tuning these parameters, scientists can create ideal environments for cultivation, maximizing process efficiency and reproducibility. In this installment of our Back to Basics blog series, we focus on how INFORS HT incubator shakers enable better control and flexibility to meet diverse cultivation needs.

03 abr. 20256 min read0
60 stories for 60 years

A legacy of customer-centered excellence: For six decades, INFORS HT has built a legacy rooted in customer commitment, innovation, and lasting partnerships. To celebrate this milestone, we are sharing 60 Stories for 60 Years: a collection of inspiring stories from around the world that highlight the people and moments that define INFORS HT. Explore stories that showcase our people and culture, nemorable moments, growth and innovation, and customer successes, each reflecting our dedication to putting customers first. Join us in celebrating the relationships and breakthroughs that have shaped our journey.

05 mar. 202546 min read
Studies of polyol production by the yeast Yarrowia lipolytica growing on crude glycerol under stressful conditions

Researchers from the University of Athens have successfully harnessed crude glycerol, a biodiesel by-product, as a substrate for producing valuable compounds like polyols and yeast biomass. Their study highlights the adaptability of wild-type Yarrowia lipolytica strains under low pH, low temperature, and non-aseptic conditions, offering a sustainable approach to bio-based production.

19 feb. 20256 min read10
Back to Basics: Setting the right shaker parameters for cultivation success

In bioprocessing, selecting the right shaker parameters is essential for optimizing the growth and productivity of various organisms, including bacteria, yeast, and mammalian cells. By fine-tuning these parameters, scientists can create ideal environments for cultivation, maximizing process efficiency and reproducibility. In this installment of our Back to Basics blog series, we focus on how INFORS HT incubator shakers enable better control and flexibility to meet diverse cultivation needs.

Consult with our experts

Reach out today to speak to a sales representative to learn how INFORS HT products and services and help optimize your cell-based vaccine applications.

Nos preocupamos por su privacidad

Utilizamos cookies para mejorar la experiencia del usuario. Analizamos nuestro tráfico, personalizamos el contenido y los anuncios de nuestro sitio web y proporcionamos funciones de redes sociales. Algunas cookies son necesarias para que nuestro sitio web funcione correctamente y para que usted pueda utilizar sus funciones. Con su consentimiento, también utilizamos cookies analíticas para mejorar nuestro sitio web y cookies de marketing para mostrar anuncios y contenidos en nuestro sitio web.
Configuración de cookies