ABSTRACT
The culturing conditions for insect and mammalian cells are similar. Most of the culture techniques have evolved through the modification of mammalian cell culture procedures. Cell damage due to excessive mechanical agitation may be associated with bubble entrainment in the fluid due to vortexing or cavitation. Due in part to the addition of fetal bovine or calf serum, typical insect cell culture media, such as Grace’s, tend to be quite complex. The insect cell/baculovirus expression system has its limitations. The expression of a foreign gene comes at the end of the infection cycle, at a time when the host cell is in the process of degradation. Mammalian cell suspension culture has been limited, to some extent, by relatively low cell densities and product concentrations. The capsule membrane selectively allows small molecules such as nutrients and oxygen to freely diffuse through, but prevents the passage of large molecules and cells.
