(55g) Scaled-Down, High-Throughput Optimization of Lentiviral Vector Production for Therapeutic and Drug Discovery Applications

Lentiviral Vectors (LVVs) hold tremendous promise as delivery tools for gene therapy and chimeric antigen receptor T cell (CAR-T) therapy. However, there remain several challenges to be addressed before such tools are more widely used as therapeutics including low viral titers and the absence of suitable scale-up methods for large-scale production. To address these challenges, we have developed a high throughput microscale HEK293 suspension culture platform that supports high cell densities of up to 40 million cells/mL in 96-deep well plates with volumes of 200 mL. Comparable transfection and LVV production efficiency were observed in the microscale as in conventional shake flasks. In addition, we have used optimal LVV production to generate SARS-CoV-2 pseudovirus particles for use in characterizing the efficacy of potential COVID therapeutics. Therefore, the microscale platform may be used as a screening tool for plasmid transfection and LVV production for use in gene therapy and drug discovery.