EMD Millipore, the life science division of Merck KGaA, has introduced a new technology that compacts dry powder cell-culture media into granules, to improve solubility, flowability and handling.

The technology is water- and additive-free and applies compression force to EMD Millipore's homogenous dry-powder media, fixing that homogeneity in place and creating granules several millimeters in size. The process does not alter the media's amino acid or vitamin composition and leaves intact the physico-chemical parameters of dissolved media and feeds, preserving the media's ability to support cell growth and productivity.

The company says that the resulting compacted media offers important advantages over traditional dry-powder media. First, compaction minimizes dust formation, improves media handling as well as cleanliness within the production area. In addition, the higher density of compacted media allows for faster dissolution while improved product flowability facilitates the dosing and mixing processes and limits media caking.

EMD Millipore will use compaction technology to produce customized cell-culture media formulations for customers' specific process needs. The company also plans to use compaction technology to enhance its established portfolio of cell-culture media products.

In other news, EMD Millipore has launched the Cellvento Cellvento CHO (Chinese hamster ovary) platform of cell-culture media and companion feed formulations for batch, fed-batch and perfusion applications. Available in liquid and powder form, the chemically defined, non-animal-origin media can be used for various CHO cell types used in biopharmaceutical development and manufacturing.

Source: EMD Millipore (compacted media) and EMD Millipore (Cellvento)