MAMMALIAN CELL CULTURE PROCESS CONTROL: 5 SAMPLING AND SENSING

Abstract

Theglobal opinion ofpotential customers about the analytical methods using biosensoris scepticism. The main reason explaining this behavioris a lake of credibility of these technics. The first biosensor concept has been described during the 60's, the first equipment commercially available appeared during the end of 70's. Few of these equipment are widely diffused. Whatdoes it mean? If one looks in the literature more than 1000 paperscan be easily found describing different biosensors to analyse a lot of substances. In actual fact, few of these probes have been developed and all these brillant concepts are quite far from the industrial reality. Most of these authors have described experiments forgetting the real nature of the samplesand the operating conditionsof the assay either in the industry or in the medical laboratory. The credibility of these analytical technics has to be demonstrated, we have to show how they can be successfully applied notonly at the laboratory scale but also at the industrial level. We have to go where the analytical problem is. However, current industrial needs for real time analysis to control a process cannotbe satisfied by existing methods of analysis and induce researchs in this field. Developments in biosensors can potentially open a new industrial market because they are able to deliver a fast response on a crude sample. In an other hand, developments in molecular biology have stimulated new opportunities in both microbial and mammaliancell culture. The increasing developmentof these production methodsresults in a greater need for control systemsto Operate these processesat their optimal point. In line analytical techniques, able to deliver data in real time are needed by biotechnological companies and have motivated the developmentof biosensor. Thecontrolof a process involving mammalian cell culture is summarizein the figure 1. We have applied biosensors use for the estimation of L-glutamine, glucose and L-lactate concentrations.