CERAMIC MICROCARRIERS FOR MAMMALIAN CELL CULTURE

MANY DIFFERENT APPROACHES ARE BEING STUDIED FOR THE CULTIVATION OF MAMMALIAN CELLS. ONE PROMISING TECHNIQUE FOR OBTAINING HIGH CELL DENSITIES AND, THEREFORE, HIGH RATES OF PRODUCTIVITY IS CELL ADHESION TO HIGH SURFACE AREA SUBSTRATES. CURRENT GENERATION CELL ADHESION SUBSTRATES ARE EXPENSIVE, HOWEVER, AND DO NOT HAVE PROPERTIES OPTIMIZED FOR A PARTICULAR CELL LINE. RESEARCHERS ARE DEVELOPING A NOVEL APPROACH FOR PRODUCING CERAMIC CELL ADHESION MICROCARRIERS WITH CONTROLLABLE SURFACE AREA, POROSITY, PARTICLE SIZE, DENSITY, AND WEIGHT. THIS IS ACHIEVED BY A UNIQUE COMBINATION OF SOL-GEL AND AEROSOL TECHNIQUES. A CONTROLLABLE MONODISPERSION OF SPHERICAL SEED PARTICLES IS FIRST PRODUCED TO FORM THE BASIS OF THE MICROCARRIERS. THESE SEED PARTICLES ARE THEN FUSED INTO LARGER SPHERICAL AGGLOMERATES, WITH THE RESULTANT INTERSTITIAL SPACING PROVIDING THE HIGH SURFACE AREA REQUIRED FOR CELL ADHESION. PROCESS FEASIBILITY WILL BE DEMONSTRATED BY PRODUCING CERAMIC MICROCARRIERS AND TESTING THEM FOR SURFACE AREA, POROSITY, AND BIOCOMPATIBILITY.