Overview
This course includes both hands-on practical and theory components covering cell vial thaw, aseptic techniques, cell counting, metabolic analysis, scale up, and bioreactor operation. Equipment such as biosafety cabinets, cell culture consumables, wave bag reactors, stirred-tank reactors, as well as single-use bioreactors will all be utilized to reflect the current state of biopharmaceutical manufacturing technology.

Who should take this course?
Operators, technical staff, engineers, and managers wishing to increase their knowledge of upstream operations in industrial biomanufacturing.

Key Topics

• Aseptic techniques in biological safety cabinets
• Mammalian cell culture best practices
• Analysis of cell growth and nutrients in culture
• Introduction to bioreactor operations (glass and disposable)
• Aseptic connections and transfer to single-use bioreactors

Learning Objectives

• Understand the principles of aseptic techniques
• Describe the practice of culturing mammalian cells in an aseptic environment in small scale
• Count cells using both automated and manual methods
• Interpret the nutrient and metabolite levels of cell culture medium
• List the equipment required for scale-up mammalian cultures
• Describe the cell expansion and inoculation methods in single-use systems
• Identify the main components of state-of-the-art bioreactor systems
• Aseptically prepare and run a 200L single-use bioreactor

Delivery

• In Englsih
• 2 mornings of theoretical instructor-led virtual classroom on June 5-6th 2025
• 2 days in-person, hands-on training at the CASTL Biomanufacturing Training Facility in Vancouver on June 12-13th 2025