Membrane-based cell culture systems--an alternative to in vivo production of monoclonal antibodies.

A new generation of membrane-based cell culture devices especially designed for small scale production of monoclonal antibodies (mabs) has entered the market in the last few years. In contrast to conventional perfusion hollow fibre bioreactors, these devices contain two functionally different membranes--one ultrafiltration membrane for nutrient supply and one gas-permeable membrane for direct oxygenation of cells. The latest systems of this generation are static culture systems which are of moderate cost and either better than, or equal to, the ascites mice in terms of quality and quantity of produced monoclonal antibodies. We have investigated the advantages of the perfused Tecnomouse bioreactor and the static CELLine culture flasks in comparison to ascites production and conventional roller bottle cultures.