Acoustic streaming induced by MHz-frequency ultrasound extends the volume limit of cell suspension culture.

Large-scale cell suspension culture technology opens up opportunities for numerous medical and bioengineering applications. For these purposes, scale-up of the culture system is paramount. For initial small-scale culture, a simple static suspension culture (SSC) is generally employed.

Suspension culture in a T-flask with acoustic flow induced by ultrasonic irradiation.

Suspension culture is an essential large-scale cell culture technique for biopharmaceutical development and regenerative medicine. To transition from monolayer culture on the culture surface of a flask to suspension culture in a bioreactor, a pre-specified cell number must first be reached. During this period of preparation for suspension culture, static suspension culture in a flask is generally performed because the medium volume is not large enough to use a paddle to circulate the medium.