The project aims to develop an efficient mixing and aeration system for cultivating shear-sensitive mammalian cells, integrating artificial intelligence and innovative bioinformatics tools applied to cellular health. This approach will optimize cell-culture processes, enabling more accessible and scalable advanced therapies, and contributing to progress in biomedicine and next-generation treatments.
Biomixing provides solutions to improve cell-culture processes in bioreactors through the development of novel mixing systems and innovative strategies that address specific challenges across multiple industries. Biomixing’s systems, grounded in fluid mechanics, aerodynamics, and advanced mathematical modelling, meet specialized needs in promising biotechnology fields such as advanced therapies, regenerative medicine, tissue engineering, and functional foods.
The goal of the project is to develop a stirred-tank bioreactor mixing and aeration system that significantly improves the suspension-expansion process of HEK 293T cells for lentivirus production. The new system seeks to enhance process control and performance compared with current monitoring approaches.
Biomixing will design this system using its expertise in CFD simulations and designing and manufacturing mixing and aeration equipment. The design focuses on four main criteria:
• Reducing cell stress to improve culture viability
• Decreasing mixing time to enhance homogeneity and nutrient distribution
• Ensuring sufficient oxygen transfer for higher cell viability and density
• Lowering energy consumption to increase sustainability
These improvements are expected to increase the viability of HEK 293T cells during suspension expansion. Higher cell viability and cellular health will yield greater cell density for subsequent lentivirus production. As cellular health is a critical factor for successful lentiviral production, this design aims to generate healthier cells capable of producing higher viral yields per unit of time and working volume.
To support these objectives, the project integrates an AI-driven bioinformatics platform developed by Alt-Atlas, a specialized technology partner. This platform enables large-scale monitoring and analysis of cellular health through morphological and multi-omic assessments, providing novel parameters not available in conventional monitoring systems.
During the project, Biomixing will generate and supply experimental data to train and refine the AI models. The analytical platform will deliver robust automated analyses for monitoring cellular health in suspension cultures, guiding process optimization and reducing experimental iterations.
The AI-based analytical framework will also serve as an independent validation tool for the newly developed mixing and aeration system against industry benchmarks, facilitating the adoption of Biomixing’s solutions in suspension cell culture applications, widely used in the highly regulated pharmaceutical sector.
This project is funded by the CDTI under the 2024 call for project proposals linked to the Advanced Healthcare PERTE, within the Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan.
