Enzyme and Microbial Technology, Vol.17, No.5, 401-407, 1995
Polyethylene-Glycol as Protectant Against Damage Caused by Sparging for Hybridoma Suspension Cells in a Bubble-Column
Far hybridoma cells cultured in a continuous stirred-tank reactor in a defined serum-free medium, the protective effect of polyethylene glycol (PEG) against damage caused by sparging with air was evaluated in a bubble column. Varying the molecular weight and concentration of PEG resulted in a diverse pattern of the death rate caused by sparging. Measuring the surface tension with the same PEG concentrations and molecular weights resulted in a similar pattern, although without the great variation in values found for the cell death rates. This indicates the involvement of the gas-liquid interface in the protective mechanism of PEG. PEG in the protective range of concentrations and molecular weights did not have a negative effect on the overall oxygen transfer coefficient, k(o,l)a.
Keywords:SUSPENDED ANIMAL-CELLS;FLUID-MECHANICAL INJURY;SHEAR SENSITIVITY;MAMMALIAN-CELLS;MASS-TRANSFER;BIOREACTORS;SERUM;CULTURE;GROWTH;MEDIA