Impact of flow-through regime on the cultivation of epithelial cells on quartz crystal resonators in micro fluidic channels

In this contribution the impact of culture medium flow on the cultivation of Madin-Darby canine kidney cells on quartz crystal resonators (QCRs) was studied. Cells were cultivated at different medium flow rates in a bioreactor chip containing 4 QCRs. Confluency and motility of cells were analyzed based on light microscopical pictures and impedance spectra of the resonators. Results were compared with cells cultivated in culture flasks mounted on a shaker and CFD simulation results of the bioreactor chip. Based on our studies the flow-regime in the micro fluidic channel geometry has major impact e.g. on the cell division rate.