Teijin Limited

Kimihiko Hamamoto

Michiyuki Tokashiki

Yataro Ichikawa

Kenji Ishimaru

Takami Arai

Michiyuki Takashiki

A method of producing a useful high-molecular-weight substance by culturing animal cells capable of proliferation, which comprises (A) a culturing step of culturing said animal cells in suspension to form a suspension culture mixture containing the animal cells and a useful high-molecular-weight substance produced by the animal cells; (B) a separating step of separating the animal cells from the suspension culture mixture and withdrawing the culture medium; (C) a removing step of removing low-molecular-weight substances inhibiting the growth of the animal cells from the culture medium, said inhibitor substances being the metabolites of the animal cells and different from the useful high-molecular-weight substance; (D) a recycling step of recycling part or the whole of the culture medium left after removal of the growth-inhibiting low-molecular-weight substances to the culturing step (A); and (E) a recovering step of recovering the useful high-molecular-weight substance accumulated in the culture system. A culture system for culturing the animal cells is also described.

Method of producing useful high-molecular-weight substances by culturing

A method of culturing animal cells, which comprises (A) subjecting living animal cells to suspension culture in a culture tank, (B) withdrawing a portion of a suspension culture fluid containing the living animal cells from the culture tank, (C) supplying the withdrawn suspension culture fluid to a centrifugal separating device which is operated under specific conditions and separating the living animal cells from the suspension culture fluid, (D) withdrawing the separated living animal cells from the centrifugal separating device, and (E) recycling at least a portion of the withdrawn living animal cells to the culture tank for the step (A).

Method of culturing animal cells

A method of cultivating animal or plant cells, which consists essentially of contacting a cultivation liquor having animal or plant cells suspended therein with a liquid fluorocarbon having molecular oxygen dissolved therein, characterized in that said cultivation liquor forms a continuous suspension phase which has cell densities of at least 4.times.10.sup.6 cells/ml, that said contact is made by feeding said liquid fluorocarbon into the cultivation liquor from above the cultivation liquor such that 1 ml of liquid fluorocarbon has a surface area of about 6 to about 300 cm.sup.2 whereby the liquid fluorocarbon falls downward through the cultivation liquor by gravity, and that said cultivation liquor has a volume of at least about 10 liters.

Method of cultivating animal or plant cells

An apparatus for cell culture by perfusion comprising a cell culture tank for suspension culture, said cell culture tank having a suspension cell culture zone, a cell settling zone, an opening for discharging a spent culture medium from the settling zone and an opening for supplying a culture medium to the suspension culture zone, the suspension culture zone and the setting zone being separated by a partition therebetween in a manner to communicate with each other in the lower portion of the settling zone, and the settling zone being formed between the side wall of the cell culture tank and the partition. Another type of apparatus for cell culture having a unit in which main culturing and settling are carried out in a cell settling zone, and a multiunit cell culture apparatus having at least two culturing units which are stacked longitudinally are also described. A method for culturing cells by perfusion in the culture apparatus which comprises withdrawing a substantially cell-free culture medium from the settling zone and introducing a fresh culture medium into the suspension culture zone.

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Hino, Japan

Kimihiko Hamamoto