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Observations on the shear damage to different animal cells in a concentric cylinder viscometer
Author(s) -
Mardikar Sudhanshu H.,
Niranjan Keshavan
Publication year - 2000
Publication title -
biotechnology and bioengineering
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.136
H-Index - 189
eISSN - 1097-0290
pISSN - 0006-3592
DOI - 10.1002/(sici)1097-0290(20000620)68:6<697::aid-bit14>3.0.co;2-6
Subject(s) - viscometer , shear (geology) , concentric , shear stress , materials science , population , suspension (topology) , biophysics , chemistry , composite material , biology , viscosity , geometry , mathematics , demography , homotopy , sociology , pure mathematics
A clear distinction is made between damage to the population of cells and damage to individual cells on exposure to shear stress. Work on mechanical damage to animal cells in suspension is reported for six different cell lines. Precisely controlled shears of 1 Pa, 10 Pa, and 100 Pa were generated in a viscometer and distortions in morphology of the cells—for instance, the formation of transient pores, cytoplasmic extrusions, and ghost‐cell membranes—are presented with photographic evidence. Low shears are shown to be just as damaging as the higher shears, although the type of damage is different. It follows that bioreactors should be operated at intermediate shear levels for optimal yield. A mechanism to account for the unexpected stability of animal cells at intermediate levels of shear is presented. © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Biotechnol Bioeng 68: 697–704, 2000.