A NOVEL ULTRASONIC RESONANCE FIELD DEVICE FOR THE RETENTION OF ANIMAL-CELLS

This article describes two types of flow-through cell retention device s based on the concept of layered piezoelectric resonators. A single-c hamber device is compared to a novel optimized steam-sterilizable prot otype ultrasonic cell separator with improved acoustic design and an i ntegrated cooling circuit, eliminating the problem of local temperatur e increase caused by the high amplitudes necessary to achieve the sepa ration of animal cells with low acoustic contrast. This setup yields h ighly reproducible results and is ideal for studying the long-term eff ects of ultrasonic sound fields and separation efficiency. The novel t wo-chamber system has the potential for scaleability due to the reduct ion in thermal and acoustic flow, increased field stability, and separ ation efficiency. Finally, the effect of power input on separation and cell viability is reported. Such flow-through cell retention systems could be used as systems to retain biomass within the fermenter or as a substitute for centrifugation, with the major advantage of eliminati ng high-speed rotational motion.