The Use of Vertical-Wheel® Technology for Superior Culture Homogeneity and Expansion of hiPSCs

This application note compares human induced pluripotent stem cell (hiPSC) expansion in a PBS-0.1 Mini Vertical-Wheel bioreactor with a conventional horizontal-blade bioreactor. Single-cell-inoculated hiPSCs were cultured for six days in batch mode at 40, 60, and 80 rpm without medium exchange. The study measured viable cell expansion, aggregate size, and aggregate-size distribution across the tested agitation rates. Vertical-Wheel cultures achieved higher expansion, with a maximum of 16.7-fold at 40 rpm, compared with a maximum of 6.3-fold in the horizontal-blade system. hiPSC aggregates in the Vertical-Wheel bioreactor remained below 300 micrometers on day 5 and showed narrow, consistent size distributions. In contrast, horizontal-blade cultures formed larger, heterogeneous aggregates exceeding 400 micrometers. The results demonstrate improved culture homogeneity and hiPSC expansion under the evaluated Vertical-Wheel conditions.