growth behavior in a bioreactor system, in order to develop a so called “Digital
Twin” of the cultivation system and expansion process. Numerical methods, such as
Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) which has become widely used in the biotech
industry for studying local characteristics within bioreactors or kinetic growth
modelling, provide possible solutions for such tasks.
In this review, we will present the current state-of-the-art for the in vitro expansion of hMSCs. Different numerical tools, including numerical fluid flow simulations and cell growth modelling approaches for hMSCs, will be presented. In
addition, a case study demonstrating the applicability of CFD and kinetic growth
modelling for the development of an microcarrier-based hMSC process will be
shown.
Graphical Abstract
Keywords Computational Fluid Dynamics, Euler-Euler model, Euler-Lagrange
model, Human mesenchymal stem cells, Kinetic growth modelling, Microcarrier
technology, Single-use bioreactor
Abbreviations
CC
Collagen-coated
CFD
Computational Fluid Dynamics
DMEM
Dulbecco’s Modified Eagle Medium
DSP
Downstream processing
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