cQrex® peptides and antioxidants for increased performance in biopharma cell culture
Our portfolio of cQrex® peptides and antioxidant offers biopharmaceutical companies a wide range of cell culture media ingredients manufactured to a consistently high level of quality at trusted facilities. cQrex® peptides have the versatility to overcome solubility and stability limitations related to specific amino acids, whereas cQrex® AKG protects cells against oxidative damage. The cQrex® ingredients are widely recognized across the global biopharma industry for their proven ability to enhance cell culture performance, enabling efficient production of biopharmaceutical drugs such as therapeutic proteins or viral vectors.
cQrex® ingredients ensure quality consistency, reduce risks and improve productivity
Our cQrex® portfolio of peptides is designed to overcome limitations in media formulation and storage stability. They help to intensify cell culture processes and drive overall productivity by solving the common stability and solubility challenges of the amino acids L-glutamine, L-tyrosine and L-cysteine.
Here are some ways cQrex® can help you improve your bioprocess:
- To maximize consistency, you can use chemically defined components instead of non-defined complex mixtures to remove a source of risk related to batch-to-batch variation.
- To formulate concentrated feed, perfusion or basal media while ensuring optimized nutrients supply to cells, you can rely on highly stable and soluble peptides
- To eliminate the second alkaline feed and pH spikes, you can formulate your media with ingredients that are soluble at neutral pH.
- To protect cells against oxidative damage and improve energy supply, you can supplement your media with the antioxidant cQrex® AKG
- Our cQrex® ingredients help boost cell productivity, improve titer and get the most out of your bioprocess.
cQrex® ingredients have a long history of use across a variety of commercial biologics programs. They are readily available globally, at commercial scale.
cQrex®: Greater performance thanks to stable and soluble peptides
Process intensification
- Highly stable and soluble forms of key amino acids
- Increased concentration of ingredients feed, perfusion or basal media without impacting the pH
- More nutrients boost cell proliferation and viability
Process simplification
- No need for extreme pH to solubilize ingredients
- Lower risk for bioprocess and operators
- All ingredients in a pH-neutral main feed
Increased productivity
- Enhanced cell metabolism (growth and viability)
- Higher protein titers supporting lower production costs
- Highly efficient production of biopharmaceuticals
How cQrex® boosts cell culture performance
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Our cQrex® product range at a glance
| Product group | Product | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Glutamine peptides | cQrex® AQ L-Alanyl-L-glutamine | Classical stabilized source of L-glutamine, with a fast uptake rate |
| Glutamine peptides | cQrex® GQ Glycyl-L-glutamine hydrate | Glutamine peptide which is particularly suitable for cell lines which are sensitive to L-alanine accumulation |
| Tyrosine peptides | cQrex® GY Glycyl-L-tyrosine dihydrate | Soluble source of L-tyrosine, when high concentrations at neutral pH are needed |
| Tyrosine peptides | cQrex® AY L-Alanyl-L-tyrosine trihydrate | Alternative tyrosine peptide for more flexibility in media design |
| Cystine peptides | cQrex® KC N,N-di-L-Lys-L-CySS 2HCl H2O | Highly soluble cystine peptide to formulate concentrated basal feed and perfusion media at neutral pH |
| Cystine peptides | cQrex® AC N,N'-di-L-Alanyl-L-Cystine | Soluble source of L-Cystine for concentrated feeds |
| Antioxidants | cQrex® AKG Alpha-Ketoglutaric acid | Titer-enhancing additive to protect cells against oxidative damage |
Scientific poster: cQrex® peptides for increased performance in biopharma cell culture
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.
Want to learn more about cQrex® peptides for improved cell culture media performance?
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"If you are looking for ways to more efficient bioprocessing and improved performance, our innovative cell culture solutions will be of great value to you. Contact us to find out how we can support and meet your needs."
Dr. Kristina Klinker
Business Development Manager
Frequently asked questions (FAQ)
Amino acids are essential ingredients in cell culture media as they function as protein building blocks. However, the low stability and solubility of some amino acids such as L-glutamine, L-tyrosine and L-cystine can affect media storage, process intensification and overall productivity in biopharmaceutical manufacturing.
To address these challenges, Evonik developed its cQrex® portfolio of highly stable and soluble peptides.
cQrex® peptides are chemically defined, non-animal-derived media ingredients that are designed to overcome solubility and stability challenges of amino acids in cell culture. They enhance media performance, support higher cell viability, and increase bioprocess productivity.
Using the cQrex® peptides to partially or fully replace amino acids in basal, feed and perfusion media helps to increase yields and generate more stable and robust processes.
L-glutamine is an important amino acid to improve cell performance and growth. However, it is chemically unstable in liquid media, degrading into ammonia and pyroglutamate, which negatively impact cell performance. This instability limits its use in long-term storage and requires last-minute media supplementation.
Evonik offers the glutamine peptides cQrex® AQ (L-Alanyl-L-glutamine) and cQrex® GQ (Glycyl-L-glutamine hydrate), which are chemically stable sources of L-glutamine. They are metabolized by cells at different rates which allows for fine tuning of the L-glutamine supply depending on the cell types and requirements. This enables storage-stable media formulations, reducing contamination risks and improving process efficiency.
L-cysteine plays an important role in the protection of cells from oxidative stress because it is a building block for glutathione. However, it is highly reactive and readily forms the dimeric L-cystine which is barely soluble at neutral pH and often precipitates in the media.
Evonik has developed highly soluble peptides such as cQrex® KC (N,N-di-L-Lys-L-CySS 2HCl H2O) and cQrex® AC (N,N'-di-L-Alanyl-L-Cystine). These peptides offer up to 1000 times greater solubility than free L-cystine, enabling concentrated media formulations and improved cell productivity.
L-tyrosine has extremely low solubility at neutral pH (less than 0.5 g/L), making it difficult to incorporate into concentrated media without using extreme pH feeds, which can complicate processes and introduce risks.
Evonik’s tyrosine peptides, cQrex® GY (Glycyl-L-tyrosine dihydrate) and cQrex® AY (L-Alanyl-L-tyrosine trihydrate), are highly soluble in media at neutral pH. They ensure the supply of L-tyrosine to cells and support higher cell culture performance.
