Perfluorochemical respiratory gas carriers: benefits to cell culture systems

The properties of perfluorochemical (PFC) liquids, particularly their inertness and high gas solubility, make them attractive for exploitation in cell culture biotechnology. PFCs and their emulsions can facilitate respiratory-gas delivery to both procaryotic and eucaryotic cells in culture, including those in bioreactor systems. Such gaseous enhancement often stimulates biomass production, yields of commercially-important cellular products and, for plant systems, the expression of totipotency. The recoverability, and hence recycleability, of otherwise expensive PFCs from aqueous culture medium makes their routine use commercially feasible. This paper gives an overview of the applications and benefits of using PFCs in microbial, animal and plant cell cultures, including both aerobic and anaerobic systems. The synergistic beneficial effects of PFC-facilitated gas supply and the cell protecting/growth-enhancing effects of non-ionic surfactant culture medium supplements in some systems are emphasised.