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Scaleup of Insect Cell Cultures: Protective Effects of Pluronic F-68

Abstract

We demonstrate that insect cells can be grown in an agitated, sparged bioreactor and an airlift bioreactor with a growth rate and maximum cell density comparable to those obtained in spinner flasks oxygenated by surface diffusion. Recombinant protein synthesis by cells infected with a genetically-modified baculovirus in the sparged bioreactor is also demonstrated. The nonionic surfactant Pluronic® F-68 was responsible for the protection of insect cells from the adverse effects of sparging. The mechanism of Pluronic® F-68 protection in a sparged environment is discussed.

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Murhammer, D., Goochee, C. Scaleup of Insect Cell Cultures: Protective Effects of Pluronic F-68. Nat Biotechnol 6, 1411–1418 (1988). https://doi.org/10.1038/nbt1288-1411

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