The field of biotechnology is evolving at a rapid pace. With advancement, researchers are now able to automate complex processes like cell culture.
There are several companies like Thermogenesis involved in automated cellular technologies. In this article, learn about automated cell culture tech, what is Thermogenesis, and the idea behind it.
What is Automated Cell Culture?
Automated cell culture is the process of mechanically automating the growth and maintenance of cell cultures without extensive manual intervention.
So once the cell has been derived from an organism, machines take over and control cell culture growth. These systems can dilute samples, growing cultures in liquid, plating the culture, or placing them in wells.
The main benefit of the automated approach is you can program the machines to grow cell culture with a high level of precision.
Thermogenesis is a company that’s been involved in automated cell culture technology since 1986.
Is Automated Cell Culture Safe?
Automated cell culture tech is very much safe. Since machines handle everything, there are low error and contamination rates. Moreover, the process isn’t affected by other human factors like tiredness and carelessness.
The automated method is much faster than manual supervising since machines do not require breaks.
Last but not least, machines also do not pose any threats to the lab technicians.
Where is Automated Cell Culture Used?
Automated cell culture is used in cell biology, pharmaceuticals, drug discovery, cell signaling, cancer biology, protein expression, regenerative medicine, nanomaterials, etc. So, it includes any industry that relies heavily on the use of cell cultures.
Some systems cater, particularly to a niche. For example, the systems that are meant for drug development will automate the production of cells. But along with that, they will also automate membrane preparation and in vitro screening steps. Thus, they can save a lot of time in producing cultured cells.
What is Point-of-care Cell Manufacturing?
Point-of-care cell manufacturing makes cell cultures in a local clinic, hospital, or lab rather than a centralized manufacturing facility. Cell cultures are made in smaller batches and personalized to the unique requirements.
One example of Point-of-care cell manufacturing is when there’s a need for Bone Marrow Concentration (BMC). In BMC therapy, bone marrow aspirate concentrate (BMAC) accelerates healing and improves regeneration. BMAC is often used in the treatment of osteoarthritis. Instead of using the off-the-shelves BMAC, the clinic may decide to prepare BMAC using automated cellular technologies and personalize the treatment.
Several companies, including Thermogenesis, offer Point-of-care cell manufacturing systems.
What is Clinical BioBanking?
Biobanks are storage banks that store samples of human origin. These are used in national and international research in biomedicine. This is to maintain diversity in the samples.
Automated cellular technologies play a crucial role in biobanks. They allow the technicians to create different kinds of cell samples rapidly. The systems also help in preserving, tracking, and retrieving high-value cells.
All biomedical research centers have biobanks. Thus, you’ll find these systems at these research centers.
Automated cell technology is the future of biotech. It will find greater application as costs come down. To answer the question, “what is Thermogenesis,” it’s a company working in the field of automated cell tech. With other companies, it is revolutionizing a manual-intensive process.