Optimization of suspension culture of adapted baby hamster kidney cells in a bioreactor for maximum cell density

The baby hamster kidney-21 (BHK-21) cell line is a continuous anchorage-dependent cell line.Suspension culture technology enables rapid growth of BHK-21 cells, leading to large-scale and cost-effective production of vaccines.This study aimed to optimize suspension culture of BHK-21 cells to achieve the maximum cell density in a bioreactor.BHK-21 cells were optimized for certain physicochemical factors like seeding ratio, pH, agitation speed, serum concentration, medium composition, and temperature in a bioreactor.Here, this study reports the successful adaptation of adherent BHK-21 cells to grow in suspension to a viable cell density of 7.510 6 cells/ml on the 3rd day in self-formulated cell culture medium at pH 7.2 and 37 C, agitation speed of 50 rpm, seeding density of 410 5 cells/ml, and 10% serum concentration in a 5-l bioreactor.The BHK-21 cell suspension culture was expanded to a 5-l bioreactor from a 20-ml flask, which resulted in the maximum cell density.The suspension culture technology improved the maximum cell density of BHK-21 cells in the bioreactor, indicating its potential for foot and mouth disease (FMD) vaccine production.