Abstract Summary (Max 250 words)
Cultivation of mammalian cells is typically performed in stirred and aerated bioreactors, where cells are exposed to complex hydrodynamic forces generated by mixing and aeration. While adequate mixing is essential for efficient heat and mass transfer, maximum hydrodynamic stress (τmax) can impact cell viability and productivity. In this study, shear-stress-sensitive aggregates, were employed as a low-cost and universal probes for τmax characterization in stirred bioreactors. Due to small volume of the tested ambr®250 mL bioreactor system we utilized optical microscopy image analysis for aggregate size determination. An optical flow-through cell was designed to enable continuous sampling and was tested using the high-throughput ambr®250 mL bioreactor system equipped with multiple impeller configurations. Obtained results of the hydrodynamic stress will be compared with the computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations utilizing lattice-Boltzmann LES method covering both single and multiphase flow conditions.
