Chemical speciation of trace metals in mammalian cell culture media: looking under the hood to boost cellular performance and product quality.

Upstream process development seeks to optimize media formulations to promote robust cell culture conditions and regulate product quality attributes such as glycosylation, aggregation, and charge variants. Transition metal ions Mn, Fe, Cu, and Zn present in cell culture media have a significant impact on cell growth, metabolism and product quality. These metals and other media components can have different chemical associations or speciation in media that are poorly characterized but may significantly impact their properties and effect on cellular performance.