Application of fractional factorial designs to screen active factors for antibody production by chinese hamster ovary cells.

With ever increasing need for cost-effective large-scale production of monoclonal antibodies, it is essential to develop highly productive and commercially viable processes. Previous research showed that growth and production capacity of the culture media can be improved by micronutrient supplements, such as insulin, vitamins, and growth factors. Since these micronutrients may not act independently of one another, factorial designs can expose critical interactions between nutrients as opposed to a serial approach of changing one factor at a time. In this study, fractional factorial designs were applied to observe the effect of several micronutrients on antibody production and culture longevity in shake flasks. Response surface designs were used to investigate the factors in depth and confirm the results of the fractional factorial study. The results demonstrate that fractional factorial design is an effective tool for rapid development of antibody-producing Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells.