How does the RCCS bioreactor work?
The Rotary Cell Culture System bioreactor consists of a horizontally rotated culture vessel with a co-axial oxygenator in the center. When the vessel is filled with culture media and rotated, the fluid rotates as a solid body around a horizontal axis. The oxygenator rotates at the same angular velocity as the outer wall. These conditions produce laminar flow and minimal shear force inside the culture vessel. The cells are maintained in suspension by the resolution of the centrifugal, gravitational and Coriolis forces, so that cells placed in the RCCS bioreactor experience minimal mechanical stresses and high mass transport (of nutrients, oxygen etc.) and are thus able to assemble into tissue-like aggregates. Gas transfer is by means of diffusion through the silicone oxygenator, thereby avoiding bubble formation and turbulence.
