title: Continuous microcarrier-based cell culture in a benchtop microfluidic bioreactor.
abstract: Microfluidic bioreactors are expected to impact cell therapy and biopharmaceutical production due to their ability to control cellular microenvironments. This work presents a novel approach for continuous cell culture in a microfluidic system. Microcarriers (i.e., microbeads) are used as growth support for anchorage-dependent mammalian cells. This approach eases the manipulation of cells within the system and enables harmless extraction of cells. Moreover, the microbioreactor uses a perfusion function based on the biocompatible integration of a porous membrane to continuously feed the cells. The perfusion rate is optimized through simulations to provide a stable biochemical environment. Thermal management is also addressed to ensure a homogeneous bioreactor temperature. Eventually, incubator-free cell cultures of Drosophila S2 and PC3 cells are achieved over the course of a week using this bioreactor. In future applications, a more efficient alternative to harvesting cells from microcarriers is also anticipated as suggested by our positive results from the microcarrier digestion experiments.
authors.affiliation: Univ. Grenoble Alpes, F-38000 Grenoble, France.
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Abeille
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Mittler
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Obeid
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Huet
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Kermarrec
authors.forename: M E
authors.initials: ME
authors.lastname: Dolega
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Navarro
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Pouteau
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Icard
authors.forename: X
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Gidrol
authors.forename: V
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Agache
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Picollet-D'hahan
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D019149:Bioreactors; D018929:Cell Culture Techniques / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods; D045744:Cell Line, Tumor; D004331:Drosophila melanogaster; D006801:Humans; D046210:Microfluidic Analytical Techniques / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods