Unlocking the Potential of Compound Libraries for Biomanufacturing Optimization

In biomanufacturing, developing and optimizing cell culture media formulations is crucial. This step is vital for maximizing yields—whether it's proteins, RNA, monoclonal antibodies, or total biomass—and minimizing costs. Despite its importance, media optimization remains a resource-intensive and time-consuming endeavor.

Many companies have excelled in creating high-throughput automated platforms that can test hundreds (thousands) of unique ingredients simultaneously (see Merck Group, Lonza, FUJIFILM Irvine Scientific, Sartorius, Multus and KCell Biosciences for example). These platforms not only assess the individual effects of ingredients on yield but also explore their interactions within the media. Thanks to these innovations, coupled with advanced modeling techniques, cell culture media optimization has reached unprecedented levels of sophistication. 🚀

However, these advanced platforms still rely on users to choose which ingredients to test. This is where the excitement builds for me—particularly around the potential of small molecule and natural compound libraries. Housing over 100,000 compounds each, these libraries offer a massive playground for discovery. 📚

For those working in cellular agriculture, natural compounds are especially promising. Depending on their sources, they might streamline the path to regulatory approval. Notable examples of natural compound libraries include Compounds Australia at Griffith Institute for Drug Discovery, the Natural Products Repository at National Cancer Institute (NCI) with over 200,000 natural products, and A*STAR - Agency for Science, Technology and Research in Singapore, which boasts a library exceeding 300,000 compounds. 🌱

The potential applications of these libraries are vast, and have previously been instrumental in several important therapeutic breakthroughs (e.g Imatinib for the treatment of leukemia). For cellular agriculture (and indeed any biomanufacturing process), natural compounds and small molecules could be used to target various cellular processes such as proliferation, suspension adaptation, specification, transdifferentiation, lipid loading, and specific post-translational modifications (among others), increasing yield and reducing overall cost. 🧬