Cell Culture Vessels Comparison: HYPERStack vs. Traditional Cell Culture Vessels

Adherent cell culture is a fundamental technique in life science research, playing versatile roles in the biomanufacturing industry. Cell culture vessels are critical tools in adherent cell production, as the vessel environment significantly impacts the health and proliferation of cells. The choice of vessel matters because it can impact cell oxygenation and growth, contamination risk, and process efficiency and scalability. In addition to traditional cell culture flasks and dishes, advancements in cell culture vessel options are helping labs and life science manufacturers broaden and scale up their work.

Advanced options, such as Corning^® HYPERStack^® cell culture vessels, can help users meet the ever-expanding needs for large-scale cell production. Read on to learn how HYPERStack products can help labs overcome challenges in production efficiency, contamination protection, and the transition from R&D scale to bioproduction scale.

Flasks are often the go-to culture vessels for growing adherent cells in a monolayer due to their simplicity and low cost.

For labs that need to produce adherent cells on a larger scale, using a greater number of flasks can be sufficient, but adding more flasks quickly leads to inefficiency in handling and greater risk of contamination. An alternative to using multiple flasks is to use Corning CellSTACK^® products, which support cell growth on up to 40 layers within a single vessel and are designed for streamlined filling and easy handling with lower contamination risk.

Some labs and bioproduction facilities have even greater needs in terms of cell yield and contamination protection. These labs seek out alternative platforms for adherent cell growth.

One such solution is the Corning HYPERStack product line. Corning's High Yield PERformance (HYPER) technology utilizes a unique, ultra-thin gas-permeable film to eliminate the air gap within the vessel. This results in a substantial increase in cell growth surface area compared to traditional vessels of comparable cubic footprint. For example, Corning HYPERFlask^®  vessel uses HYPER technology to enable a 10-fold increase in cell growth within a traditional 175 cm2 flask footprint.

For users with even greater scale-up needs, HYPERStack vessels combine the concept of CellSTACK with the advantages of HYPER technology to further expand adherent cell growth capacity. HYPERStack vessels have a proven track record of supporting bioproduction applications, including cell and gene therapy manufacturing.

HYPERStack vessels provide biomanufacturing firms with an alternative to traditional cell culture vessels that meets their performance and scale requirements. Here are some of the benefits.

Ann Rossi Bilodeau, a Senior Bioprocess Applications Scientist at Corning, explained how gas exchange differs between HYPER technology and traditional cell culture vessels. "In a traditional vessel, you have what's called a headspace. There's a layer of media over the cells, and then you have a headspace, and gas exchange occurs at that air-liquid interface," she said. In HYPER technology, by contrast, vessels have tracheal spaces that allow gas exchange to occur directly at the cell growth surface. "So, it can really boost cell growth because there's very efficient gas exchange," she explained.

HYPER technology "allows for a very high-density cell growth in a pretty compact environment footprint because you're not relying on a headspace," Rossi Bilodeau added.

HYPERStack cell culture vessels' higher cell yield compared to vessels with a similar footprint makes them suitable for many bioproduction applications. On the other hand, the HYPERFlask vessel has a smaller footprint than the HYPERStack vessel and might be a better choice for labs with smaller cell production requirements or with space constraints.

Closed processing mitigates contamination risks, a critical consideration for biomanufacturing firms, especially those producing therapeutic products.

HYPERStack vessels are specifically designed for closed-system operation. Users can create various closed-system setups, such as bag assemblies and sterile bottle connections, by using Corning's tubing and vent filters with HYPERStack vessels. This can enable operations such as media changes to be performed outside of a biosafety cabinet, potentially improving workflows and reducing labor.

HYPERStack vessels offer manufacturers a modular and scalable cell production capacity within a closed system. These features enable resource-efficient cell expansion, which is crucial for cell and gene therapy, vaccine manufacturing, and other applications that require an optimized-for-output infrastructure.

Platform fidelity with stacked vessel designs delivers batch-to-batch consistency as you move from R&D scale (HYPERFlask vessel) to bioproduction scale (HYPERStack vessel).

To further increase the scale of cell production, HYPERStack vessels can be manifolded together using tubing and other accessories. Rossi Bilodeau noted that manifold options can further reduce contamination risk and streamline processes, compared to using multiple separate vessels to produce the same number of cells.

Other factors to consider when evaluating options for adherent cell growth include training and labor requirements.

Rossi Bilodeau explained that while the HYPERFlask vessel  can be handled similarly to a traditional cell culture flask, the HYPERStack vessel requires some training for users. "The HYPERStack, because of the way it is built, is a fully closed system, so that's a benefit. But it does require some training to utilize, so that you don't compromise the integrity of the vessel," she said.

HYPERStack products deliver cost-effective performance and scalability for biomanufacturing firms.

For example, Waisman Biomanufacturing, a manufacturer of biologics for clinical trials, sought to scale up production of allogeneic cell therapeutics at its Madison, Wisconsin, facility, utilizing more efficient, cost-effective, and larger-scale manufacturing methods. The firm's legacy CellSTACK 10-layer vessels had been a reliable workhorse, but couldn't meet the scale they now needed without a costly equipment or facility upgrade. To help meet their new production needs, Waisman selected the HYPERStack 36-layer vessel.

The HYPERStack vessels helped produce dramatic cost savings. The biomanufacturer achieved a 250% increase in cell production capacity while incurring operating costs that were only 20%-25% higher. They achieved these results in the shortest possible time, without substantially expanding facility resources or staff size.

As firms like Waisman seek to ramp up their production capacity, the HYPERStack vessel offers an effective and scalable solution.

Learn more about how Corning HYPERStack vessels can enhance your facility's cell culture development.