High density culture of mouse-human hybridoma cells using a perfusion culture apparatus with multi-settling zones to separate cells from the culture medium.

Mouse-human hybridoma X87X cells were cultivated using a novel perfusion culture apparatus provided with three-settling zones to separate the cells from the culture medium by gravitational settling. The maximum viable cell density in a serum-free culture medium attained 3.0×10(7) cells/ml, when the specific perfusion rate was set to 2.3 vol day(-1), and monoclonal antibody was continuously produced. These results were almost the same as those in the perfusion culture vessel with one settling zone and revealed that the process with a plurality of settling zones is a promising one for scale-up of a gravitation type of perfusion culture vessel.