Polymethylmethacrylate Copolymer-Based Microcarriers for Culturing Mammalian Cells

Microcarriers have been extensively explored for culturing anchorage-dependent mammalian cells for various applications. While numerous polymers have been explored for fabricating the microcarriers, both natural and synthetic polymers have their shortcomings. Thus, a synthetic, biocompatible polymer, exhibiting good cell adhesion properties, is the most suitable material for such applications. In this context, polymethylmethacrylate copolymers, commercially available as Eudragit® grades, were investigated for their suitability as matrices for mammalian cell culture. Eudragit® RL100 grade was successfully used to fabricate uniform, spherical, and non-porous microcarriers for the first time, having a diameter of 222 ± 60 µm, by the modified emulsion cross-linking/solvent evaporation process. Further, the recombinant cell line CHO 6E6, reported to produce human IgG, was used for evaluating the potential of coated and non-coated microcarriers to support in vitro cell growth and proliferation. It was observed that cells did not grow on uncoated microcarriers, though some cellular attachment was observed. However, they could attach, grow, and produce IgG on gelatin- and collagen-coated Eudragit® RL100 microcarriers. Microcarriers coated with collagen promoted higher proliferation of cells than those coated with gelatin, while the cells growing on the latter resulted in higher production of IgG. Functionally active cells could be successfully grown on Eudragit® RL100 microcarriers coated with collagen and gelatin. Gelatin offered a more suitable chemistry for the growth of morphologically appropriate cells, which ultimately lead to higher productivity. While this study is one of the few proof-of-concept investigations to evaluate the potential of Eudragit® microcarriers for mammalian cell culture, further investigations are warranted to demonstrate a match in the productivity of the growing cells with those being cultivated on commercially available microcarriers.