Cell carrier function of hollow-fiber membrane in rotating wall vessel bioreactor

Abstract

Large-scale expansion of the osteoblasts of a Sprague-Dawley (SD) rat was studied in a rotating wall hollow-fiber membrane bioreactor (RWHMB) by using hollow-fiber membrane as the carrier. For the sake of contrast, cells were also expanded in a T-flask using a hollow-fiber membrane as carrier and in a rotating wall vessel bioreactor (RWVB) using a microcarrier. During the culture period, the cells were sampled every 12 h, and after 5 days, the cells were harvested and evaluated with scanning electron microscopy (SEM), hematoxylin-eosin (HE) staining and alkaline phosphatase (ALP) staining. Moreover, von-Kossa staining and Alizarin Red S staining were carried out for mineralized nodules formation. The results show that in RWHMB, the cells present better morphology and vitality and secrete much more extracellular matrix. It is concluded that the RWHMB combines the advantages of the rotating wall vessel and hollow-fiber membrane bioreactors. The hydrodynamic stimulation within it accelerates the metabolism of the osteoblast and mass transfer, which is propitious to cell differentiation and proliferation.

Keywords

hollow-fiber membrane, microcarrier, bioreactor, osteoblast, expansion