HIGH CELL-DENSITY PERFUSION CULTURES OF ANCHORAGE-DEPENDENT VERO CELLS IN A DEPTH FILTER PERFUSION SYSTEM

A depth filter perfusion system (DFPS) with polypropylene fibers had b een demonstrated to support high density cultures of anchorage-indepen dent hybridoma cells. The DFPS provides advantages of high surface-to- volume ratio of 450-600 cm(2)/cm(3), low cost set-up, easy operation a nd scale-up. To test the feasibility of using DFPS for high density cu ltures of anchorage-dependent cells, Vero cells were cultivated in the DFPS. Gelatin coating on polypropylene fibers in the DFPS was necessa ry to promote cell attachment and growth. Dissolved oxygen (DO) concen trations could be controlled by sparging air into the reservoir vessel through a filter sparger. When DO concentration was controlled above 40% of air saturation in the DFPS with 40 mu m pore size, the maximum cell concentration as estimated on specific lactate production rate, w as 3.81 x 10(7) cells/ml of the total reactor volume. This viable cell concentration is approximately 18 times higher than that obtained in a T-flask batch culture. Taken together, the results obtained here sho wed the potential of DFPS for high-density cultures of anchorage-depen dent cells.