Cultivation of anchorage-dependent animal cells in microsphere-induced aggregate culture.

Diethylaminoethyl-derivatized dextran microspheres were used to cultivate Chinese hamster ovary, 293, Vero and swine testicular cells. Cells became attached to the microspheres but did not spread out. Instead, they grew in a more spherical shape and eventually formed multiple-cell-layer aggregates. Viability in these aggregates remained high after the cultures reached high cell concentrations. This cultivation method allows a high cell density to be achieved with a low microsphere concentration.