Numerical investigation of particle dispersion in the preprocessing stage for a static cell cultivation

In order to produce high-quality cells in a static culture, the initial placement of the cells is one of the most important factors. Dense distribution of the cells increases the risk of cell death. Thus, the cells need to be uniformly distributed during the preprocessing of a static culture. This process depends on the operator's experience and has not been standardized. In this study, we have performed numerical simulations to investigate the efficiency of cell dispersion by using OpenFOAM. The numerical domain is a square-shaped dish. Two shaking methods, one-direction and multi-direction reciprocal shaking, were considered and calculations were conducted under five oscillation frequencies. The cell colony was assumed as a solid spherical particle. The initial particles were densely positioned at the center. The numerical result showed that the multi-direction reciprocal shaking was more effective to disperse the particles than the one-direction reciprocal shaking. In addition, at a low frequency, almost all particles sank to the bottom and hardly dispersed. These results indicate that strong fluctuations can lift particles from the bottom and that frequent changes in the flow direction make for more even distribution.