Application
Cell Line Development
Cell Line Development (CLD) is a foundational step in biopharmaceutical production. It enables the generation of stable, high-yielding host cells, typically CHO cells, that express monoclonal antibodies and recombinant proteins. The CLD process includes gene insertion, clone screening, and optimization to ensure consistency at every stage.
These steps are crucial for achieving scalability, ensuring regulatory compliance, and producing high-quality biologics reliably. Together they influence product efficacy, safety, and cost.
Advances in CLD streamline the creation of robust production cell lines by enhancing genetic stability, reproducibility, and protein expression efficiency. Modern platforms support both adherent and suspension cultures, integrating high-throughput clone selection to reduce variability and accelerate timelines. This flexibility ensures consistent performance from early-stage development to large-scale manufacturing.
How Hamilton Supports your Cell Line Development Workflows
Hamilton supports efficient and scalable cell line development with automated solutions that streamline and standardize key steps, while maximizing walk-away time and reproducibility.
The portfolio ranges from customized platforms to ready-to-use workstations, supporting applications such as genetic engineering, mammalian cell culture, clone characterization, and quality control to meet a wide variety of research and production needs.
Hamilton also offers automated solutions for temporary freezing prior to long-term storage in liquid nitrogen for cell banking, as well as sensor technologies for real-time bioprocess monitoring. See how we support upstream and downstream processes.
Hamilton systems integrate seamlessly with third-party devices such as biosafety cabinets, automated incubators, and imaging systems, ensuring end-to-end workflow automation and full data traceability. On-deck modules—including TILT modules, centrifuges, and others—support critical steps such as gentle media exchange, pelleting, and sample processing with minimal manual intervention.
These components provide full data traceability and reduce variability. By combining expertise in liquid handling automation with open integration capabilities, Hamilton delivers scalable solutions that adapt to laboratory needs and regulatory requirements, ensuring consistency, scalability, and efficiency in every phase of cell line development.
Our standardized Cell Care STAR workstation adopts this highly integrated concept for end-to-end automated adherent cell culture, offering confluency monitoring, feeding, and seeding.
Genetic cell engineering involves designing and producing the appropriate editing payload—whether plasmid DNA, viral vectors, or ribonucleoprotein complexes—for delivery via direct transfection, viral transduction, or nuclease-based genome-editing methods such as Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats (CRISPR). Hamilton customizable liquid handlers can facilitate large-scale production of vectors through automated insert amplification, restriction digestion, ligation and assembly, downstream colony picking, plasmid purification, and storage of transformed bacteria. Viral vector production, titer estimation, and subsequent transduction, as well as direct transfections, can be performed on Hamilton cell culture solutions or dedicated custom systems.
Techniques such as serial dilution and cell sorting enable efficient and reproducible isolation of monoclonal cell lines. Hamilton facilitates single-cell isolation by automating the serial dilution process, leveraging its high-precision pipetting technology within advanced automated systems.
To evaluate the success of genetic engineering (knock-out, knock-down, knock-in effects) without off-target effects and for phenotypic assessments, Hamilton offers a range of automation systems to cover various applications.
- Liquid Chromatography–Mass Spectrometry (LC-MS)-based assays: Validation and quantification of expressed proteins, detection of Posttranslational Modifications (PTMs), global or targeted proteomics studies, metabolomics analyses, quality and safety assessment. See our Analytical Chemistry Application Page
- Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA)-based assays: detection and quantification of expressed proteins, PTM detection, measuring of secreted products, virus titer determination. See our Protein Assays Application Page.
- Cell-based assays: viability, apoptosis and cell death, reporter gene assays, secretion analysis, migration and invasion assays. See our Cell-Based Assays Application Page.
- Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR)-based assays: insertion detection, copy number evaluation, genotyping, gene expression analysis. See our PCR Set-Up Application Page.
- Next-Generation Sequencing (NGS)-based assays: Target Sequencing, Whole Genome Sequencing, Transcriptome Sequencing, Single-Cell Sequencing, Epigenetic analysis. See our NGS Library Prep Application Page.
- Optical Genome Mapping (OGM)-based assays: Structural variant detection, genome integrity and stability analysis, characterization of complex regions. See our Long String Genomics Application Page.
After cell pellets are harvested, they are gently resuspended in freezing medium and transferred to cryovials. These samples undergo temporary freezing at -80°C in controlled containers before being moved to liquid nitrogen for long-term storage. This process can be automated with our automated sample management systems, helping labs streamline cell banking while preserving sample viability and ensuring consistent handling across batches.
Explore our Cell Line Development Solutions and Applications in Detail
Choose an outcome below to see personalized product recommendations.
-80°C Sample Storage
SAM HD Pro
The SAM HD Pro lab freezer is your solution for high-density storage with a small footprint. This compact lab freezer is capable of ultra-low temperatures down to minus 80°C to ensure sample integrity. The SAM HD Pro sample freezer makes automated storage quick and easy.
-80°C Sample Storage
BiOS
BiOS is Hamilton’s premier minus 80°C freezer for medium- and large-capacity storage. This ultra-low temperature freezer maintains the integrity of your biological sample storage throughout automation. With customizable size and capacity, this minus 80°C freezer can be scaled to fit your storage needs.
Capping & Decapping
LabElite DeCapper
The LabElite DeCapper by Hamilton automates tube capping and decapping, improving efficiency and sample integrity.
Capping & Decapping
LabElite DeCapper SL
The LabElite DeCapper SL by Hamilton automates tube capping and decapping for 24-, 48-, and 96-format racks.
Barcode Reading
LabElite I.D. Reader
The LabElite I.D. Reader by Hamilton automates barcode scanning for 2D-labeled tubes.
Capping & Decapping
LabElite Handheld DeCapper
The LabElite Handheld DeCapper is a semi-automated device designed for efficient capping and decapping of tubes in 48- and 96-format racks.
Capping & Decapping
LabElite I.D. Capper
The LabElite I.D. Capper from Hamilton combines automated tube capping/decapping with high-speed barcode reading in one device.
The Hamilton Microlab Prep is an affordable liquid handler perfect for automating workflows. This entry-level liquid handler supports automated PCR setup and serial dilution.
The Hamilton Microlab STAR is a reliable and versatile automated liquid handling platform. With advanced features like multi-probe heads, pipetting technologies, and VENUS software, this premier liquid handling system fits your laboratory needs. Revolutionize your workflows with the STAR today!
Hamilton STAR V, a cutting-edge liquid handling robot, unites Microlab STAR flexibility with Microlab VANTAGE high-performance capabilities to boost efficiency. The Microlab STAR V offers speed, precision, and technology for automated liquid handling. Upgrade your lab—explore the Microlab STAR V!
Hamilton VANTAGE 2.0 is a cutting-edge liquid handling system with automated precision. Optimize workflows with the VANTAGE robot, all while boosting performance, safeguarding samples, and maximizing walk-away time. Discover the Hamilton VANTAGE liquid handler for your current & future needs.
Assay Ready Workstations
NGS STARlet
Compact and efficient, the entry-level NGS STARlet from Hamilton includes all the devices you need to automate sequencing library preparation of up to 24 samples at once with detailed precision, accuracy, and reliability.
Assay Ready Workstations
NGS STAR Line
Hamilton NGS STAR helps streamline next-generation sequencing in labs. Achieve full NGS automation for library prep, optimized for NGS assays and genome sequencing. Enhance efficiency, precision, and reliability in your workflows. Explore the Hamilton NGS STAR for seamless sequencing today!
Assay Ready Workstations
NGS STAR V
Automate NGS library preparation with the Hamilton NGS STAR V Assay Ready Workstation—optimized for demanding high-throughput genomic research.
Lab Syringes
Gastight Syringes
The solution for dispensing both gases and heterogeneous liquids. Hamilton Gastight syringes are equipped with a precision-machined PTFE plunger tip to create a leak-free seal.
Automated workstation
BIOSPOT® Workstation
Specializes in microplate applications, achieving unparalleled accuracy in dispensing nanoliter volumes or compound screening and assay miniaturization.
Good to Know about Cell Cell Line Development Workflows
Useful Links
External resources not written by Hamilton but valuable for understanding the topic, such as industry guidelines, explanatory videos, or relevant tools.
| An introduction to cell-line development | Watch Video |
| Fernandez Vallone, V., Telugu, N. S., Fischer, I., Miller, D., Schommer, S., Diecke, S., & Stachelscheid, H. (2020). Methods for automated single cell isolation and sub-cloning of human pluripotent stem cells. Current Protocols in Stem Cell Biology, 55(1), e123. | Read Article |
Solutions for the Top 3 Challenges for Cell Line Development Workflows
Time-Intensive Manual Work
Challenge: CLD involves multiple labor-intensive steps such as subculturing, clone screening, and expansion. These tasks are repetitive and slow, delaying project timelines and diverting valuable scientific resources.
Solution: Hamilton’s automated platforms, available as both customized and standardized solutions, can automate critical steps of the cell line development workflow, including media exchange, viability assays, and clone expansion. Integrated scheduling software orchestrates each step to reduce hands-on time while enhancing reproducibility and consistency. The result is faster progression from transfection to lead candidate identification with minimal manual intervention and maximum walk-away time.
Sterility
Challenge: A major challenge in the cell line development process is maintaining sterility throughout all stages of cell culture and expansion. Contamination can easily occur due to the highly sensitive nature of cell cultures and the frequent manual handling involved. Even minor breaches in aseptic technique or equipment sterilization can compromise the entire cell line. This can lead to batch failures, loss of valuable clones, and delays in development timelines. Maintaining sterility control is critical but difficult, especially when scaling up processes or transferring workflows between labs.
Solution: Hamilton offers advanced solutions to overcome sterility challenges in cell line development by integrating HEPA-filtered enclosed workstations and sterile, single-use tips with built-in filters. The HEPA-filtered environments provide clean, particle-free air, significantly reducing the risk of airborne contamination during sensitive cell culture processes.
Additionally, the use of sterile, filtered tips minimizes the chance of cross-contamination during liquid handling by preventing aerosol or droplet carryover. Together, these technologies create a controlled, aseptic environment that protects cell lines from contamination, improves reproducibility, and supports compliance with stringent sterility requirements.
Throughput Limitations
Challenge: Manually screening and selecting clones across large libraries limits scale and delays the selection of high-producer lines. Traditional tools cannot keep pace with the growing demands of modern bioproduction.
Solution: Hamilton supports high-throughput cell line screening with fully integrated platforms that automate colony picking, incubation, imaging, and analysis. Seamless integration with third-party devices, such as incubators, biosafety cabinets, and centrifuges, enables a continuous and scalable workflow. This approach dramatically increases throughput, enabling faster decision-making across a broader range of candidates.
What are the Most Commonly Used Cell Lines for CLD?
The most commonly used cell lines for CLD are selected based on their ability to stably express high levels of recombinant proteins, compatibility with regulatory standards, and adaptability to suspension growth for large-scale production. They include Chinese Hamster Ovary (CHO) cells, Human Embryonic Kidney (HEK293) cells adapted to suspension, and Mouse Myeloma Cells (NS0 and SP2/0).
What are the strategies for Cell Line Development?
Successful cell line development relies on well-defined strategies designed to generate high-yielding, genetically stable clones for consistent and scalable production of biologics. These strategies cover molecular design, host cell selection, clonal isolation, and advanced screening technologies.
Vector design is optimized to deliver strong and stable expression of the recombinant protein. This includes the choice of promoters, enhancers, and selection markers that optimize transcriptional activity. An efficient host cell line, such as CHO or HEK293, is equally crucial, as these cells offer favorable growth characteristics and are widely accepted for regulatory compliance.
Advanced single-cell isolation techniques, such as cell sorting, are employed to isolate individual clones that can be screened for productivity, stability, and growth kinetics. Once stable clones are established, high-throughput cell line screening enables rapid evaluation across large panels, allowing researchers to identify the most promising candidates for scale-up.
These strategies are essential for developing cell lines capable of producing monoclonal antibodies, therapeutic proteins, and other recombinant biologics. Integrating automation and data-driven selection tools accelerates the CLD timeline, enhances consistency, and supports downstream applications such as process development and clinical manufacturing.
Other Cell Line Development Resources
Browse app notes, user guides, specification documents, and more in our Knowledge Center.
Browse app notes, user guides, specification documents, and more in our Knowledge Center.
Browse app notes, user guides, specification documents, and more in our Knowledge Center.
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