MODELING HYBRIDOMA CELL-GROWTH AND METABOLISM A COMPARISON OF SELECTED MODELS AND DATA

Unstructured models for cell growth (cell specific growth and death ra te) and metabolism (cell specific substrate uptake and metabolite prod uction rates) of hybridoma cell lines were compared with special respe ct to significance, analytical error and range of validity. The divers ity of the unstructured models cited reveals their mostly descriptive character compared to structured models. Bearing in mind this limited knowledge, empirical models can still serve as a valuable tool for pro cess design. For understanding of the cell metabolism itself they migh t have been overemphasized in the past. For proper model design, care has to be taken to cover the whole range of process conditions. In par ticular, if a process is to be run at very low substrate and high meta bolite concentrations, chemostat cultures which have mostly been used for the model formulations, are not sufficient and have to be complete d by, for example, fed-batch cultures.