Aggregate Perfusion Medium Exchange in Vertical-Wheel® Bioreactors for Scalable PSC Production
This white paper examines medium exchange strategies for scaling pluripotent stem cell (PSC) aggregate expansion in PBS Vertical-Wheel® Bioreactors. Settled medium exchange interrupts agitation and can promote aggregate merging and size heterogeneity, potentially affecting cell quality and downstream differentiation. The paper compares settled medium exchange with filter-based perfusion in PBS-0.5 Mini vessels. Perfusion maintained agitation and produced consistent growth and metabolic rates, with smaller, more spherical, and more homogeneous aggregates than settled controls. Scale-up to PBS-3 maintained comparable growth, metabolite profiles, and aggregate morphology, supporting perfusion medium exchange for scalable PSC production.
This application note demonstrates the benefits of PBS Biotech’s PBS-Mini Vertical-Wheel® Bioreactor within a scalable workflow developed with Bio-Techne for hiPSC expansion and differentiation into functional pancreatic islet-like clusters. The bioreactor supported robust aggregate culture while maintaining more than 95% pluripotency during hiPSC expansion and supporting progression through key stages of pancreatic differentiation. Combined with Bio-Techne’s GMP-grade reagents and analytical solutions, the workflow generated beta cell-containing, functional islet-like clusters that…
This webinar examines scalable suspension culture of PSC-derived organoids using PBS Biotech Vertical-Wheel bioreactors. PBS Applications Engineer, Hannah Worden, explains how low-shear, homogeneous mixing and consistent geometry support organoid process development and scale-up. Case studies cover liver, pancreatic islet, and cerebellar organoids, including aggregate-size control, differentiation, functional markers, and improved organization under dynamic culture. With the audience, we address agitation, seeding density, media formulation, perfusion-based medium exchange, sampling, and…
This poster, presented at ISSCR Kyoto 2026, demonstrates a scalable strategy for iPSC manufacturing using Vertical-Wheel Bioreactors, addressing expansion, process development, cell banking, and differentiation. Linear scale-up from PBS-0.1 through PBS-80 produced 200 billion iPSCs at a 50 L working volume while maintaining pluripotency and normal karyotype. High-density work cell banks were developed through 3D adaptation and retained differentiation potential toward cardiomyocytes and pancreatic progenitors. MiniPRO further served as a controlled scale-down model, demonstrating growth…
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