Evaluation of a Porous Silicone Carrier (Immobasil G) for Animal Cell Culture

Porous carriers can be used in fixed, fluidised and stirred tank perfusion culture systems, where high unit cell density and good scale-up potential can be combined with longterm continuous operation (1 and 2). ImmobaSil G carriers are made from silicone rubber, which is formed into a sponge like structure with randomly interconnecting pores. The pores are largely uniform in size (100 µm), and give a void volume of greater than 40%, creating a usable surface area of 50 m 2per litre. Pore size and volume can be varied to suit particular applications. The specific gravity is 1.065 g/ml making it very suitable for use in stirred tank reactors. Weighting elements can be included in the manufacturing process to increase the specific gravity of the carrier for fluidised and fixed bed applications.