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Updated: May 24, 2026
Cultivation of Mammalian Cells Using a Single-use Pneumatic Bioreactor System
Published on: October 10, 2014
Death rate in a small air-lift loop reactor of vero cells grown on solid microcarriers and in macroporous
D E Martens1, E A Nollen, M Hardeveld
1Department of Food Science, Food and Bioengeneering Group, Agricultural University, Bomenweg 2, 6703 HD, Wageningen, The Netherlands.
Abstract:
The death rate of Vero cells grown on Cytodex-3 microcarriers was studied as a function of the gas flow rate in a small air-lift loop reactor. The death rate may be described by first-order death-rate kinetics. The first-order death-rate constant as calculated from the decrease in viable cells, the increase in dead cells and the increase in LDH activity is linear proportional to the gas flow rate, with a specific hypothetical killing volume in which all cells are killed of about 2·10(-3) m(3) liquid per m(3) of air bubbles. In addition, an experiment was conducted in the same air-lift reactor with Vero cells grown inside porous Asahi microcarriers. The specific hypothetical killing volume calculated from this experiment has a value of 3·10(-4) m(3) liquid per m(3) of air bubbles, which shows that the porous microcarriers were at least in part able to protect the cells against the detrimental hydrodynamic forces generated by the bubbles.
