title: Novel bioreactors for the culture and expansion of aggregative neural stem cells.
abstract: Neural stem cells have been cultured as three-dimensional aggregates in a number of different types of bioreactors. The design and configuration of the bioreactor are shown to be crucial factors for the successful propagation of the cells. A novel bioreactor with liquid re-circulation and a working volume of 200 ml has been designed, tested and shown to be able to produce a higher cell vitality compared to those produced in multi-well plates, shake flasks and stirred flasks. The novel reactor was able to produce a total density of cells of 3.5 x 10(6) cells/ml consisting of a larger number of smaller and proliferative aggregates, compared to only 1.8 x 10(6) cells/ml produced in a multi-well plate. Shake flasks and stirred flasks commonly used for facilitating mass transfer in the culture of micro-organisms are shown to be unsuitable for the propagation of neural stem cells.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Cambridge, Pembroke Street, Cambridge, UK.
authors.forename: Yuen Ling
authors.initials: YL
authors.lastname: Ng
authors.forename: Howard A
authors.initials: HA
authors.lastname: Chase
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D018929:Cell Culture Techniques / Q000295:instrumentation*; D002470:Cell Survival; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D004867:Equipment Design; D019544:Equipment Failure Analysis; D051379:Mice; D009474:Neurons / Q000166:cytology* / Q000502:physiology*; D012212:Rheology / Q000295:instrumentation*; D013234:Stem Cells / Q000166:cytology* / Q000502:physiology*; D023822:Tissue Engineering / Q000295:instrumentation*