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ExpiCHO Expression System
Maintain protein quality and function from research to bioproduction
Switching from 293 to CHO cells during drug development doesn't have to create uncertainty. Now there's a better way. The Gibco ExpiCHO Expression System is a completely optimized system consisting of ExpiCHO-S cells that have been adapted to high-density, serum-free suspension culture in ExpiCHO Expression Medium, along with specially designed transfection reagents and enhancers, that provide high protein quality and quantity in a transient system. That means you can start your research work in CHO cells and stay in CHO cells through discovery.
“The ExpiCHO system helps speed up our developmental timelines by eliminating the need to have different hosts for transient versus stable expression. This eliminates a key quality risk when we transition from research into development.” Biotechnology company
ExpiCHO protocol video and webcasts
Review these videos to learn how to produce recombinant proteins using the ExpiCHO Expression System and also to hear about the latest advances in protein expression from industry experts.
ExpiCHO - Superior Protein ProductionExpiCHO - Superior Protein Production
ExpiCHO: Transient CHO Expression ProtocolLearn how to produce recombinant proteins with the Gibco™ ExpiCHO™ Expression System and achieve 3 g/L protein yields in a transient CHO system.
Gibco ExpressionWorld 2016: Development of a mammalian recombinant protein production suiteCatherine Owczarek, PhD describes how transient protein expression using the FreeStyle 293, Expi293 and ExpiCHO systems have enabled rapid screening, identification and characterization of multiple novel protein-based therapeutic drug candidates.
Gibco ExpressionWorld 2016: Streamlining the drug development process with the ExpiCHO systemJon Zmuda, PhD shares how the ExpiCHO transient expression system generates gram per liter protein titers in CHO cells in 10–14 days.
What’s in the ExpiCHO Expression System?
The Gibco ExpiCHO Expression System brings together a high-expressing CHO cell line, a chemically-defined animal origin-free, serum-free, and protein-free culture medium, an optimized culture feed, and a high-efficiency transfection reagent that work in concert to provide protein titers 3x higher than the Gibco Expi293 Expression System and 160x higher than the Gibco FreeStyle CHO Expression System. With the chemically-defined formulation of the ExpiCHO(TM) Expression Medium, you can come to expect high reproducibility in your results and lot-to-lot reliability.
- 2 vials of frozen Gibco ExpiCHO-S Cells
- 1 liter of Gibco ExpiCHO Expression Medium
- 1 Gibco ExpiFectamine CHO Transfection Kit, sufficient to transfect 1 liter of culture
- Gibco OptiPRO Serum-Free Medium
- An antibody-expressing positive control vector
Get up to 20x more protein in less volume
The ExpiCHO Expression System is designed to deliver superior protein yields compared to alternative transient systems, saving you precious time, incubator space, and plasticware costs. Now you can express the same amount of protein in a single flask that other transient CHO systems express in 20 or more flasks.
“The higher titers achieved by the ExpiCHO system… saves us considerable time, effort, and money." Bonnie Hammer, PhD, Vice President of Biologics Development, Invenra
Figure 1. Recombinant protein titers in ExpiCHO and other transient CHO expression systems. Expression levels of human IgG, rabbit IgG and erythropoietin in ExpiCHO and other transient CHO expression systems are shown. ExpiCHO titers range from 25–160 times those of other transient CHO expression systems.
Titer comparison of Expi293 and ExpiCHO Expression Systems
Expression levels of human IgG, rabbit IgG, murine IgG, and a broad range of non-Ab proteins in Expi293 or other transient expression systems and ExpiCHO systems are shown. IgG titers in ExpiCHO Expression System range from 0.6–97–fold (Avg. 5-fold) than those obtained using various other systems. Additionally, 7 proteins from this panel were not expressed in Expi293 cells yet expressed at high levels in the ExpiCHO system.
| Protein | Expi293 or current system (mg/L) | ExpiCHO (mg/L) | Fold increase |
|---|---|---|---|
| Human antibody | 26.6 | 2,580 | 97 |
| 4 | 147 | 33 | |
| 4 | 56 | 14.6 | |
| 22 | 266 | 12.4 | |
| 48 | 334 | 6.9 | |
| 36 | 190 | 5.3 | |
| 18 | 78 | 4.3 | |
| 85 | 314 | 3.7 | |
| 170 | 410 | 2.4 | |
| 138 | 325 | 2.4 | |
| 25 | 50 | 2.0 | |
| 102 | 204 | 2.0 | |
| 57 | 92 | 1.6 | |
| 336 | 491 | 1.5 | |
| 565 | 864 | 1.5 | |
| 450 | 600 | 1.3 | |
| 350 | 450 | 1.3 | |
| 309 | 383 | 1.2 | |
| 243 | 276 | 1.1 | |
| 352 | 371 | 1.1 | |
| 565 | 620 | 1.1 | |
| 309 | 302 | 1.0 | |
| 139 | 129 | 0.9 | |
| 11 | 9 | 0.8 | |
| 565 | 365 | 0.6 | |
| Undetectable | 500 | ||
| Precipitated | 330 |
| Protein | Expi293 or current system (mg/L) | ExpiCHO (mg/L) | Fold increase |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rabbit antibody | 5 | 120 | 20 |
| 17 | 178 | 11 | |
| Murine antibody | 216 | 1,412 | 6.5 |
| 20 | 86 | 4.3 | |
| 60 | 240 | 4.0 | |
| 60 | 240 | 4.0 | |
| 76 | 196 | 2.6 | |
| 12 | 18 | 1.5 | |
| 16 | 17 | 1.1 | |
| 119 | 48 | 0.4 | |
| 135 | 47 | 0.3 |
| Protein | Expi293 or current system (mg/L) | ExpiCHO (mg/L) | Fold increase |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bi-TE | Western blot | Western blot | 25 |
| Bi-specific | 28 | 117 | 4.2 |
| 26 | 90 | 3.5 | |
| 126 | 250 | 2.0 | |
| NA | 763 | ||
| NA | 660 | ||
| Secreted | 216 | 1412 | 6.5 |
| Protein | Expi293 or current system (mg/L) | ExpiCHO (mg/L) | Fold increase |
|---|---|---|---|
| Non-Ab | 15 | 82 | 5.5 |
| Western blot | Western blot | 5.0 | |
| 164 | 68 | 0.4 | |
| NA | 206 | ||
| Fab | 85 | 366 | 4.3 |
| 10 | 10 | 1.0 | |
| FC-fusion | 5 | 8 | 1.7 |
| His Tag HLA | Undetectable | 12 | 12 |
| Viral protein | Western blot | Western blot | 3–5 |
| Cytokine | Western blot | Western blot | 5–10 |
| FcR | Western blot | Western blot | 2–3 |
ExpiCHO Expression System cost-effectiveness compared to other transient expression systems
| ExpiCHO Expression System | Expi293 Expression System | FreeStyle CHO Expression System | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cost of 1L transfection | $2,174 | $1,735 | $1,201 |
| Culture volume for equivalent yield | 70 mL | 100 mL | 2,000 mL |
| Total cost for same amount of protein | $146 | $174 | $2,403 |
| *Factors in minimum cost of a MaxCyte processing assembly and a portion of the upfront cost of purchasing a MaxCyte electroporation instrument. NOTE: Cost comparison based on list price in USD and protein yields of 1.5 g/L with ExpiCHO Expression System, 1 g/L with Expi293 Expression System, and 0.05 g/L with FreeStyle CHO Expression System. | |||
Choose a system that flexes to fit every phase of your development process
The ExpiCHO Expression System provides multiple protocols to fit your workflow. The system can scale up or down based on your needs for greater throughput early in discovery or higher yields as you focus on selected proteins.
“The ExpiCHO system is so easy it takes less work than making proteins in E. coli. The scalability of the system is fantastic. I can express 30 different mAbs simultaneously, and then pick the ones I like and scale up to grams. The ExpiCHO system is a revolutionary lifesaver for us.” Arjen van den Berg, PhD, Senior Scientist, Cellular and Molecular Medicine, University of California at San Diego
Figure 2. Scalability of the ExpiCHO System. The ExpiCHO System is scalable within 15% of control from 35 mL to 1 L culture volumes.
Figure 3. Transient transfection protocol—7 or 8 steps to protein production. The ExpiCHO system allows you to customize your work with a choice of 3 different protocols depending on your unique research needs, time, and equipment availability.
Fully documented cGMP-banked ExpiCHO-S cells
- Fully documented cGMP-banked cell line
- Derived from the same Master Seed Bank as standard ExpiCHO-S cells (Cat No. A29127)
- Pre-adapted to ExpiCHO Expression Medium
- A component of the fully integrated, animal origin-free ExpiCHO Expression System for applications requiring cGMP-banked cells
- Flexible commercial licensing options with no royalties
Figure 4. Equivalent rabbit IgG titers are obtained in cGMP-banked ExpiCHO-S cells and non-cGMP ExpiCHO-S cells at 30 mL scale using ExpiCHO-S Expression System.
Easier transition to stable production with ExpiCHO Stable Production Medium
Gibco ExpiCHO Stable Production Medium (SPM) is specifically designed to simplify your cell line development process, facilitating the production stage with minimal effort and a high degree of confidence. This chemically defined, protein-free, animal origin component-free formulation is fully optimized for large-scale fed-batch culture with ExpiCHO-S cells. ExpiCHO SPM supports transition from transient to stable production and offers high titers typically without the need for additional medium optimization.
Efficiently scale ExpiCHO protein production with Nalgene 5 L Angled-Bottom Shake Flask
Discover Nalgene 5 L Angled-Bottom Shake Flask designed for ExpiCHO expression system scale up. In contrast to other 5 L shake flasks that can impart damaging levels of shear stress on mammalian cells, the unique design of the Nalgene 5 L Angled-Bottom Shake Flask creates a gentle cellular environment allowing for cell growth and expression levels equivalent to those of small-scale shake flasks. The Nalgene 5 L Angled-Bottom Shake Flask was the only 5 L flask tested that enabled such highly efficient scale-up.
Figure 1. ExpiCHO protein expression in Nalgene 5 L Angled-Bottom Shake Flasks compared to alternative 5 L flasks. Protein titer for ExpiCHO cells transfected, resulting in a 2 L final volume in Nalgene 5 L Angled-Bottom flasks compared to other 5 L flasks. Cultures were harvested at Day 14 posttransfection to determine protein titers. Protein titers were >10-fold for the Nalgene Angled-Bottom flasks compared to alternative 5 L flask designs.
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