Alginate concentration: a key factor in growth of temperature-sensitive baculovirus-infected insect cells in microcapsules.

The desire to increase cell density and product concentration has been the primary driving force for the development of better animal cell culture processes. In the technique used in our laboratory-microencapsulation-insect cells (Spodoptera frugiperda), infected with a temperature-sensitive mutant of the Autographa californica nuclear polyhedrosis virus (AcNPV), were cultured in multiple membrane alginate-polylysine (PLL) microcapsules which had a controlled membrane molecular-weight cutoff and an intracapsular alginate concentration which was ca. 16% lower than that obtained in the commercially available single-membrane system. Cell culture experiments indicated that the intracapsular alginate concentration appears to be a key factor in achieving good cell growth. It was possible to obtain intracapsular cell densities of 8 x 10(7) cells/mL capsules and virus concentrations to 10(9) IFU/mL capsules. The virus litre in the supernatant was ca. 300 times lower, indicating that virtually all of the virus was retained within the capsules.