(719f) Predicting Shear, Energy Dissipation, and Blending in Bioreactors for Mammalian Cells

Mammalian cells, as used in the in vitro cultivation biotechnological products, are very sensitive to shear forces arising from turbulence and fluid motion. This behavior is particularly apparent in agitated reactors, wherein cells are exposed to various hydrodynamic environments that may reduce cell growth, cause cell death, or introduce other adverse reactions. Competing with this need to minimize shear, however, is the requirement that reactors remain homogenized and well-stirred to maximize throughput and batch efficiency.

In this work, we discuss how large eddy simulation can be used to perform time-accurate, three-dimensional numerical experiments of agitated bioreactors. After this theoretical overview, we use this approach to predict the time-evolution of the shear and energy dissipation fields across the fluid domain. Next, we show how this time-accurate model can be used to perform real-time blending and recirculation experiments on modest computational resources. We conclude showing how cell trajectories can be integrated in tandem with the fluid motion to predict the precise hydrodynamic environments experienced by many cells as they move about a tank.