Abstract
We present detailed quantitative measurement analyses for flow in a spinner flask with spinning rates between 20 to 45 RPM, utilizing the optical velocimetry measurement technique of Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV). A partial section of the impeller was immersed in the working fluid to reduce the shear forces induced on the cells cultured on microcarriers. Higher rotational speeds improved the mixing effect in the medium at the expense of a higher shear environment. It was found that the mouse induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells achieved the optimum number of cells over 7 days in 25 RPM suspension culture. This condition translates to 0.0984 Pa of maximum shear stress caused by the interaction of the fluid flow with the bottom surface. However, inverse cell growth was obtained at 28 RPM culture condition. Such a narrow margin demonstrated that mouse iPS cells cultured on microcarriers are very sensitive to mechanical forces. This study provides insight to biomechanical parameters, specifically the shear stress distribution, for a commercially available spinner flask over a wide range of Reynolds number.
Highlights
Neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer’s disease, brain and spinal injuries, and Parkinson’s disease affect more than 6 million people in North America
Since the development of pluripotent stem cells, such as embryonic stem (ES) cells and induced pluripotent stem cells, the focus in regenerative medicine has shifted from organ transplantation to cell therapy
For the azimuthal plane analysis, the vorticity calculation was not shown due to the fluid flow behaving like a solid body rotation, producing minimal variance in vorticity
Summary
Neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer’s disease, brain and spinal injuries, and Parkinson’s disease affect more than 6 million people in North America. The number of cases can be translated to over 150 billion dollars in healthcare costs each year [1]. Methods for repairing and replacing damaged or absent tissues and organs have been of major interest to relieve the immense burden in healthcare expenditure and to improve quality of human life. Since the development of pluripotent stem cells, such as embryonic stem (ES) cells and induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells, the focus in regenerative medicine has shifted from organ transplantation to cell therapy. Due to the stem cells’ self-renewing nature and ability to differentiate to various types of cells, the stem cell is the perfect basic material for treatment of degenerative diseases. Scientific research can benefit from the renewal ability by having a large number of the cells available through the proliferation process
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