Long-term cultivation of immortalised mouse hepatocytes in a high cell density, fixed-bed reactor

An immortalised mouse hepatocyte line was grown in culture flasks and in a small-scale fixed-bed system to determine growth characteristics and a suitable carrier type. The cells were then cultivated in a 40 ml fixed-bed reactor over 75 days at a perfusion rate of 6.25 ml medium per ml fixed-bed and day. A cell density of approx. 8.5.10(7) cells per ml carrier was reached at the end of the experiment proving that a stable cultivation was possible over a long period of time with constant consumption and production rates.