Quantitative investigation of the effect of mechanical and geometrical factors of a laboratory-scale bioreactor using a vibrating agitator on mammalian cell culture indices.

Mammalian cell cultures in laboratories are performed in static and dynamic methods, and cell growth indices are higher in dynamic mode. In this study, a lab-scale stirred bioreactor using a vibrating disc and a suitable setup has been introduced for dynamic cell culture, which creates proper mixing at low shear stress. 15 experiments have been done by Raji cell in batch mode using Box-Behnken design to quantitatively investigate the effect of mechanical and geometrical factors of this bioreactor on cell culture indices. Three structural factors, including disc diameter, vibration amplitude, and the height of the disc placement have been selected as the main factors. Three cell growth indices including the specific growth rate, the maximum cell concentration, and productivity have been considered as biological responses. Resulting models predict the value of each index under different settings of the factors with good accuracy. Results show that the disc diameter has the greatest effect among the investigated factors. Also, the specific growth rate, the natural logarithm of the maximum cell concentration, and productivity are about 0.033 (1/h), 13.2, and 5133 (cells/hmL), respectively by using a 25 (mm) disc with a vibration amplitude of 2.5 up to 3 (mm), and a placement height of 40 up to 60 (mm).