Cell Culture Media

Cell culture media analysis involves the comprehensive evaluation of the composition, quality, and dynamic changes in the culture medium used to support cell growth in vitro. Unlike cell-focused assays, media analysis targets the extracellular environment to monitor nutrient consumption, metabolite accumulation, and potential contaminants. This type of analysis is essential for optimizing culture conditions, ensuring reproducibility, and improving the scalability of bioprocesses.

Key Aspects of Cell Culture Media Analysis

• Nutrient and Metabolite Profiling
  Quantitative measurement of key nutrients (e.g., glucose, glutamine, amino acids) and metabolic byproducts (e.g., lactate, ammonia) provides insight into cell metabolic activity and growth phases. This enables real-time adjustments to maintain optimal conditions.
• Monitoring pH and Osmolality
  Maintaining stable pH and osmolality is critical for cell health and productivity. Media analysis helps detect shifts due to cellular activity or external factors, allowing timely interventions.
• Quality Control and Batch Consistency
  Routine analysis supports the standardization of media preparation, lot-to-lot consistency, and quality assurance—especially important in regulated environments like biomanufacturing.
• Biopharmaceutical Development and Manufacturing
  For optimizing cell growth and maximizing yields in processes like monoclonal antibody or vaccine production.

HORIBA offers sophisticated spectroscopic methods for both measuring and monitoring cell culture media, crucial for optimizing cell growth and product quality in biopharmaceutical applications. Our key technologies include A-TEEM (simultaneous Absorbance-Transmittance, Excitation Emission Matrix) spectroscopy and Raman Spectroscopy.

A-TEEM is a powerful tool for rapid and cost-effective analysis of media composition. It provides a unique molecular fingerprint of the media, allowing for the identification and quantification of various components, including tryptophan, tyrosine, folic acid, vitamin B6, and riboflavin, all at low concentrations. This label-free technique can detect subtle changes in media quality due to storage conditions or degradation, making it ideal for quality control and monitoring batch-to-batch consistency. HORIBA's Veloci BioPharma Analyzer utilizes A-TEEM for comprehensive media analysis, including real-time inner filter effect corrections.

Raman Spectroscopy, a non-destructive technique, provides detailed chemical information based on molecular vibrations. It can identify monomers, raw materials, and detect contaminants in cell culture media. HORIBA's Raman microscopy offers high spatial resolution for analyzing media components and can be used for both qualitative and quantitative analysis. Its ability to analyze aqueous solutions directly, coupled with options for automated high-throughput screening and even remote monitoring via fiber optic probes, makes it a versatile tool for cell culture media analysis and process monitoring. The PoliSpectra Rapid Raman Plate Reader (RPR) is an example of HORIBA's high-throughput Raman solution for rapid analysis of multiwell plates used in cell culture.