Evaluation of a simple protein free medium that supports high levels of monoclonal antibody production.

A simple protein free medium was formulated and tested in suspension culture using three hybridoma cell lines. The medium, referred to as CDSS (Chemically Defined Serum Substitutes), consisted of the basal medium DMEM:Ham F12, 1:1, with HEPES (D12H), plus pluronic F68, trace elements, ferric citrate, ascorbic acid, and ethanolamine. No protein or lipid components were added. All three cell lines were weaned off serum using CDSS and a commercially available protein free medium PFHM-II. Data shown here indicated that normally cells took 1-7 weeks to wean off serum and an additional 2-7 weeks to adapt to suspension culture. After adaptation the cells were able to grow well in suspension culture using both protein free media and in the main performed better than serum containing controls. The stability of the three hybridoma cells for antibody production following freeze/thaw procedures and long term subculturing was also tested. All three lines were frozen using our protein free CDSS medium (containing 0.75% bovine serum albumin and 10% dimethyl sulfoxide) in liquid nitrogen for up to one year. Cells thawed from these stocks recovered well and were able to maintain good growth and antibody production characteristics. One line was shown to grow using our protein free CDSS medium in suspension culture for 12 weeks without loss of antibody productivity.