Article ID | Journal | Published Year | Pages | File Type |
---|---|---|---|---|
633543 | Journal of Membrane Science | 2014 | 12 Pages |
Abstract
In this investigation, rat liver cells were cultured in sub-confluent adhesion on model membranes hydrophilized by physical treatment featuring varying surface wettability in a continuous-flow recycle bioreactor. Bioreactor optimization permitted to culture cells at uniform and measurable pericellular concentrations of metabolic substrates, and to challenge them with controlled increasing ammonia concentrations. Membrane surface wettability was characterized in terms of water sorption, dynamic contact angle, and oxygen content by XPS. The kinetics of oxygen consumption, ammonia elimination and urea synthesis of cells adherent on membranes with increasing wettability was characterized at increasing ammonia concentrations. Cells exhibited increasingly better metabolic functions on membranes with increasing surface wettability. Metabolic reaction rate differences were increasingly more evident at increasing ammonia concentrations. Membrane surface wettability appeared to mainly affect cell capacity to respond to the ammonia challenge.
Related Topics
Physical Sciences and Engineering
Chemical Engineering
Filtration and Separation
Authors
Giorgio Speranza, Claudio Della Volpe, Gerardo Catapano,