The single-use bioreactor market was estimated to have grown at a CAGR of 20% in 2014. Wave-mixed bioreactors and stirred bioreactors represent the largest segment of today`s single-use bioreactor market, and are preferred by process developers and manufacturers of preclinical and clinical samples when high-value products up to medium scale and products requiring high safety demands are in focus. However, wave-mixed and stirred single-use bioreactors are also becoming increasingly important for commercial biopharmaceutical productions. This is ascribed to the availability of high-productivity cell lines, which require smaller bioreactors. In addition, the availability of bioengineering data and cultivation bags with improved films enables optimized operations with wave-mixed and stirred single-use bioreactors, whereby the risks of leachable migration and adsorption of hydrophobic components are reduced.
Based on a brief description of the current single-use bioreactor market, we aim to highlight the predominance of wave-mixed and stirred versions, and their main applications. In addition, their advantages and limitations are summarized. An insight into our long-term work with wave-mixed and stirred single-use bioreactors is given in the main part of our presentation, and results from cultivations with different expression systems covering plant cells, insect cells and mesenchymal stem cells (1-4) are provided. In this context, the advantageous combination of bioengineering and cell biological expertise is demonstrated for both process development and scale-up
