Single-Use Bag Help Maintain Aseptic Ingredient Transfer to Bioreactors
The innovation of single-use technologies is applicable early on in the manufacturing process.
Containment of ingredients and materials during bioprocessing is necessary for the protection of the
manufacturing environment, the operators working in that environment, and the drug product. Because
containment is an ongoing priority for the industry, innovative technologies are needed to support it. For
example, as the adoption of single-use bag systems in bioprocessing grows, the introduction of newer single-
use technologies to compliment those systems are helping to streamline aseptic bioprocessing. For
instance, single-use bags for transferring powder ingredients (e.g., cell culture media) to the bioreactor
are an increasingly useful tool in keeping the loading of the bioreactor a closed process.
Aseptic concerns
It has been historically accepted that sterility is not a critical factor early on in the biomanufacturing
process, such as during the transfer of cell culture ingredients, for instance, powder ingredients for media
and buffers. Thus, powder ingredients have traditionally been scooped from stock containers and then
weighed and mixed in vessels or bags, a process that is typically done in a separate clean room to control
contamination from airborne material .
However, as biomanufacturers grow to use single-use technologies, single-use bags can also be applied
for other tasks besides the cell culture process itself. Single-use bag offer a simpler, cleaner, and safer
way to handle ingredients. Dry ingredients can be transferred to single-use bags with the added
convenience of having pre-weighed amounts prepared from storage vessels.
To discuss the challenges and practicalities of using single-use bags for handling powder ingredients in
bioprocessing, BioPharm International spoke with Ben Wylie, senior product manager, ChargePoint
Technology, a provider of high containment and sterile powder transfer solutions.
