Superior Microcarrier-Based iPSC Expansion in PBS-3 Vertical-Wheel® Bioreactor

This white paper evaluates microcarrier-assisted expansion of human induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) using beadMATRIX+ in PBS-0.1 Mini and PBS-3 Vertical-Wheel bioreactors. The study compares microcarrier culture with aggregate culture, examines agitation-rate optimization, evaluates the influence of two-dimensional seed-train conditions, and assesses scale-up from 0.1 L to 3 L. Optimized beadMATRIX+ cultures produced greater cell expansion than aggregate controls while providing a broad operating range for agitation. Growth performance was comparable across bioreactor scales and was not materially affected by the preceding seed-train surface. Cells expanded at 3 L retained high expression of pluripotency markers, showed no detected karyotypic abnormalities or copy-number changes, and maintained trilineage differentiation potential after cryopreservation and thaw. The results support a scalable microcarrier-based process for producing high-quality iPSCs.