Bioprocess Development for Cord Blood Mesenchymal Stromal Cells on Microcarriers in Vertical-Wheel Bioreactors

This study describes development of a scalable microcarrier-based expansion process for equine cord blood-derived mesenchymal stromal cells using Vertical-Wheel bioreactors. The authors evaluated microcarrier selection, attachment efficiency, cell expansion, harvest performance, donor variability, serial passaging, and batch versus fed-batch culture strategies. A multistage development approach was used, beginning with microcarrier screening and progressing to bioreactor optimization. The resulting process achieved high cell densities while maintaining expected cellular phenotype and functionality. Additional studies assessed process robustness across multiple donors and passages, demonstrating reproducible performance under dynamic culture conditions. The publication provides a structured bioprocess-development framework that may inform future manufacturing workflows for veterinary regenerative medicine and large-scale MSC production.