2004 Volume 37 Issue 4 Pages 531-535
A macroporous HAp culture substratum was formed by hydrothermal treatment of gypsum. The macropores derived from poly(methylmetacrylate) (PMMA) beads had diameters of 150–200 μm, and a porosity of 28% that was dependent on the PMMA beads quolity. The maximum CHO-K1 cell density of the macroporous HAp microcarrier was 7.3 × 107 cells·ml–1-HAp. This value is similar to most existing suitable porous microcarriers.
A macroporous HAp plate packed-bed type bioreactor was designed. The density of CHO-K1 cells in the bioreactor was seven times higher than that from a stationary culture. These results suggest that the HAp synthesized from gypsum by hydrothermal treatment is a suitable animal cell culture substratum.