How to increase the stability of L-glutamine for better cell performance
L-Glutamine is an important amino acid to improve cell performance and growth
Glutamine is used by practically all human and animal cells as a carbon source for growth and as a building block of proteins. Due to its important role in energy supply, it is typically present in cell culture media at higher concentrations than other amino acids. While free L-Glutamine is an important energy source, its use in cell culture media can result in several problems. In particular, it is widely known that the chemical degradation of glutamine into ammonia and pyroglutamate while in liquid media can negatively affect cell culture performance. High uptake and metabolic turnover also result in the release of ammonia which becomes inhibiting to the cell culture.
Glutamine dipeptides are an attractive solution to fix the performance challenges of L-glutamine
One elegant, natural method to stabilize L-Glutamine against chemical degradation through the synthesis of a dipeptide was developed in the field of parenteral nutrition solutions more than three decades ago[1]. This approach has since been widely adopted in cell culture media applications, with L-Alanyl-L-Glutamine being probably the best-known dipeptide that is also available in various ready- to-use supplements. Depending on the cell line, clone, product and media formulation used for biopharmaceutical production, it can be helpful to evaluate additional glutamine dipeptides to maximize performance and keep cells healthier for longer.
L-alanyl-L-glutamine and glycyl-L-glutamine are two dipeptides with superior cell performance
L-Alanyl-L-Glutamine is one example of a chemically stable dipeptide which is a source of L-Glutamine. It can be taken up and metabolized by CHO cells with a similar rate as glutamine, which can result in the typical glycolytic overflow metabolism and the formation of inhibitory concentrations of ammonia and lactic acid. While several approaches have been described to reduce this byproduct formation, the use of alternative L-Glutamine dipeptides can represent a simpler solution. Sánchez‑Kopper et al[2] investigated the uptake and metabolism of various dipeptides by CHO cells, and demonstrated that Glycyl-L-Glutamine is taken up at a lower rate than L-Alanyl-L-Glutamine. This resulted in a slightly reduced growth rate but a higher antibody titer. Although ammonia and lactate concentrations were not reported, it can be assumed that the reduced growth rate corresponded to lower rates of formation for these byproducts and potentially higher antibody productivity.
Optimized nutrient supply is key to successful cell culture and efficient production of high quality biopharmaceuticals such as therapeutic proteins, vaccines, gene therapies, and cell based therapies. As building blocks of proteins, amino acids are essential culture media ingredients. However, some amino acids have properties that limit their cellular uptake and the bioprocess productivity.
This scientific poster gives you detailled insights about our chemically defined cQrex® peptides, which overcome amino acids limitations and increase performance in biopharma cell culture media.
Select Evonik as your supply partner for highly pure, chemically defined glutamine dipeptides
Evonik produces high purity glutamine dipeptides by chemical synthesis and subsequent purification for the cell culture industry at large volume scale. cQrex® GQ (Glycl-L-Glutamine) and cQrex® AQ (L-Alanyl-L-Glutamine) are today trusted for use in the biopharmaceutical production processes of many companies worldwide.
ORDER SAMPLES TO TEST OUR PERFORMANCE-BOOSTING INGREDIENTS IN YOUR SYSTEM
Discover for yourself how cQrex® ingredients can help to stabilize components, extend cell longevity, solubilize critical constituents, optimize the concentration of essential nutrients and increase productivity. Samples of other cell culture ingredients can also be supplied upon request.
