中国生物工程杂志

Large-scale cultivation is an essential step towards the feasible production of baculovirus in insect cell cultures. Airlift reactors appear to offer considerable advantages over other insect cell culture systems. In order to evaluate the impact of reactor design on the behavior of insect cell cultures, the Helicoverpa Amrigera cell HzAm1 was cultivated in airlift reactors with different geometrical parameters. The ratio of downcomer to riser cross sectional area, the bottom clearance and the ratio of height to diameter of the reactor are proved to be important of the cell growth behavior. The influence of gas flow rate on the growth of HzAm1 cells cultivated in a selected reactor configuration was determined to find an optimal superficial gas velocity that renders sufficient oxygenation without any negative effects on the cellular viability. And the influence of the reactor design and superficial gas velocity on fluid circulation in the reactor was tested. Modifying the reactor design and the superficial gas velocity ,the maximum viable cell density could be elevated from 4.5×105to 7.7×105cells/ml，and also the cell livability is improved.