HIGH RENIN PRODUCTIVITY OF RCHO CELLS CULTIVATED IN RADIAL-FLOW NONWOVEN FABRIC MAT PACKED-BED REACTOR WITH INCREASING CIRCULATING FLOW-RATE

Radial-how bioreactors are effective for reducing concentration gradie nts, because the flow area is large and the path for circulating cultu re broth is short. In this study, a polyester nonwoven fabric mat was employed as a packing material in a radial-how reactor, and the renin production by recombinant Chinese hamster ovary (rCHO) cells in the bi oreactor was investigated. The renin productivity of the cells was enh anced by use of an increasing circulating flow rate in the radial-bow reactor. It was also observed that the cells in the case of the increa sing circulating how rate formed aggregates, and the specific renin pr oduction rate was 6 times higher than that in the case of a constant c irculating flow rate. This may imply that the fell aggregation which o ccurred on the nonwoven fabric mat in the case of the increasing circu lating how rate may have been due in part to the enhancement of the re nin productivity.