Chromatography Forum

Hi,

This question, concerning a problem in large-scale cell culture, may be a little irrelevant in this forum. However, RPC or GC may me useful for analysis of these leachables ...

We suspect that some leachables/extractables from EPDM O-rings are decreasing cell propagation and viability in cell culture. Have anyone had similar experiences? Which leachables may be extracted from EPDM? Literature references (I did not find much in PubMed)? I am grateful for all suggestions.

Regards,

Goran Karlsson
Octapharma
Stockholm
Sweden

It may be best to get somebody knowledgeable at the place where you bought the O-rings. You can have mold release agents etc. that may be bothersome. Unfortunately, the nature of these agents can be very specific to the manufacturer. Alternatively, you could wash the EPDM O-rings with a range of organic solvents, dry them and then see if the problem improves.

Or throw in some rings and see if the problem gets worse.