Enabling Robust and Efficient iPSC Expansion and Differentiation Processes Using High-Density Cell Banking Approaches and a Scaled-Down Computer-Controlled Parallel Vertical-Wheel Bioreactor System

This poster describes integration of high-density working cell banks with a computer-controlled parallel Vertical-Wheel bioreactor for human induced pluripotent stem cell process development. High-density banks generated through three-dimensional expansion were thawed directly into suspension, eliminating multiple planar seed-train stages before differentiation. Post-thaw cultures demonstrated reproducible growth, maintenance of OCT4 expression, normal karyotype, and functional pluripotency. The scale-down platform provided dissolved oxygen and carbon dioxide control, perfusion feeding, and manufacturing-relevant hydrodynamic conditions. Cells expanded from high-density banks were subsequently directed toward definitive endoderm, cardiac, and endocrine or islet-like lineages. The workflow is intended to reduce process variability, resource use, and development timelines while providing a representative system for identifying critical process variables before larger-scale manufacturing.