title: Culture of amebocytes in a nutrient mist bioreactor.
abstract: We report the first use of nutrient mist bioreactor (NMB) technology to culture animal cells. The nutrient mist approximated the amebocyte stem tissue's natural environment, which is a thin layer of fluid in the gill leaflets of the horseshoe crab Limulus polyphemus. NMB culture was tried in an attempt to increase production of amebocytes, which are the source of the Limulus Amebocyte Lysate (LAL), the basis for a sensitive and commercially valuable endotoxin assay. Amebocyte growth in the nutrient mist bioreactor is comparable to growth in liquid medium. However, the current design of the bioreactor presents problems for primary cultures such as ours where a pyrogen-free environment is necessary and fungal decontamination is difficult.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology and Biotechnology, Worcester Polytechnic Institute, Massachusetts 01609.
authors.forename: J A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Friberg
authors.forename: P J
authors.initials: PJ
authors.lastname: Weathers
authors.forename: D G
authors.initials: DG
authors.lastname: Gibson
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D003470:Culture Media; D006434:Hemocytes / Q000166:cytology*; D006737:Horseshoe Crabs / Q000166:cytology*; D008722:Methods; D011076:Polycarboxylate Cement
chemical_list: D003470:Culture Media; D011076:Polycarboxylate Cement; C005506:polycarbonate