Upcoming Events

January

January 23, 2020, 11 am – 12 pm, Owens Auditorium, CRB

GRCF Seminar Series, featuring ThermoFisher, “Optimization of a phenol red-free T cell expansion medium to improve performance and workflow flexibility”, Kimesha Hammett, Field Application Scientist

Abstract: Adoptive immunotherapy displays immense potential as an immunotherapeutic strategy for patients with advanced malignancies. Phenol red has been a mainstay in media used for the ex vivo expansion of primary T cells. Those in the field prefer to keep phenol red out of the growth media because of potential regulatory concerns and the knowledge that it can interfere with sensors that are crucial to automated production workflows. To better serve customers, Thermo Fisher Scientific formulated a phenol red-free version of CTS™ OpTmizer™ T-Cell Expansion Serum-Free Medium (SFM) for use in T cell therapy manufacturing work flows. The design for CTS OpTmizer T-Cell Expansion SFM, No Phenol Red, is identical to that of the parent product, with the lone difference being the removal of phenol red from the basal medium. Here, we present data confirming that the removal of phenol red from the basal formulation does not affect T cell growth, viability, or phenotype. We also show that the additions of GlutaMAX™ can enhance viability, and the addition of CTS Immune Cell Serum Replacement (ISCR), a chemically defined serum substitute, can improve cell growth during expansion, while still maintaining a desirable phenotype. Finally, we display the results of a comparison between CTS OpTmizer T-Cell Expansion SFM, No Phenol Red and a popular serum-containing culture medium in several vessels, demonstrating that CTS OpTmizer without phenol red is as effective as the serum-containing counterpart.

Upcoming Events

January

February

• February 18, 2020, 10 am – 11 am, MRB G-01

March

• March 11, 2020, 10 am – 2 PM, Turner Concourse

Director’s Spotlight