Drug candidate selection depends on the consistency and robustness of cell-based assay from the onset, which in turn relies on the quality of cell lines and cell culture. The level of rigor and time involved in doing cell culture for cell banking on a large scale makes it a huge challenge.
Poor quality cell culture may come from inconsistent cell passaging, cell overgrowth, and microorganism contamination. Another common issue resides in the starting cell line being non-clonal. Suppliers at times seek the easy way out by offering pools of cells. Albeit being antibiotic selection resistant, these heterogeneous collections of cells are unstable, with the certainty of target pharmacology drift overtime. These poor quality cell banks lead to misleading results that may invalidate months and years of screening data. The intensive labor required by cell culture also takes away precious time that could be spent on research to understand, select and validate the biology of targets and drug lead candidates.
Over nearly 2 decades, Multispan has established expertise and rigorous protocols to handle complex cell cultures at different levels, including small scale for target validate, medium scale for weekly lead optimization and GMP product batch release validation, and large scale for high throughput screening.
The Multispan team can not only perform cell banking services at different scales but also excel to the highest standards.
MULTISCREEN™ stable cell line is designed as a reliable clonal source for HTS targeting native pharmacology. We would start with a MULTISCREEN™ stable cell line, a MULTISCREEN™ custom stable cell line or a stable cell line clone validated and provided by the customer.
The team of experts at Multispan examines each batch of frozen cells in a functional assay and compares it with its original low-passage stable cell line. Such cell bank characterization ensures robust functionality and impeccable batch-to-batch consistency. Additional standard QC may apply such as mycoplasma testing, RT-PCR sequencing, and target expression by FACS or western blot.
We don’t offer just cell banks, we offer cell banks with function.
The scale-up cell banks will be delivered in small cryovials containing 2- 20 million cells per vial or in larger tubes. The frozen cells vials are shipped on dry ice for overnight or the fastest delivery possible. More importantly, functional cell-based assay QC data with detailed experimental conditions from the specific cell bank delivered and assay protocol will be communicated via email. As a package, these cells will be truly Assay-Ready.
Combined with MULTISCREEN™ stable cell lines and custom stable cell lines, our unique custom cell banking services provide complete solutions to jumpstart drug discovery by saving at least 6-12 months in cell line and assay development, cell culture banking, and QA/QC.
A cell bank is used to store cell lines for future research, in conditions that safely preserve the genetic material of these cells.
Cell banking allows for consistency in experiments utilizing the same cell line. It also acts as a form of quality control by providing researchers with a validated, reliable, and contaminate-free source of cells. Cell banking can also reduce resource and time costs needed to maintain cell cultures, and increase cost efficiency in comparison to repeatedly culturing the same cell line.
Common types of cell banks include master cell banks (MCBs) and working cell banks (WCBs), and research cell banks. Master cell banks act as the main repository for cell lines derived from the initial cell culture, and are used to create smaller working cell banks used for regular research activities. This prevents unecessary access to the MCB and maintains the preservation of the primary cell line storage.
Cell banks must be accurately temperature controlled, and routine monitoring of temperature and humidity is essential. A clear organization and cataloging system must also be implemented and maintained. Cells must be suspended in protectant and buffer mediums to protect against cell damage and maintain pH balance.
The stability of a cell bank refers to how well the stored cells are preserved to maintain consistency for future experiments. With proper storage practices, the stored genetic material can be effective for research use for years to come.
