Design and analysis: Scaling up of bioreactor towards directed differentiation of human embryonic stem cells

Embryonic stem cells will be an effective tool as a renewable source in regenerative medicine mainly due to their extensive proliferation and ability to differentiate into various lineages of cells. Widespread use of embryonic and adult stem cells for therapeutic applications will require reproducible production of large numbers of well-characterized cells under well-controlled conditions in bioreactors. In this study we have attempted to simulate the scaling up of a lab scale bioreactor for the directed differentiation of human embryonic stem cells. With the help of existing protocols we have developed a flow sheet for the scaled up industrial production of differentiated human embryonic stem cells and calculated the efficiency of the output. We have analysed the metabolic and energy generating pathways of the cells in the reactor and optimized nutrition mixture involved to determine the ratio of nutrients in the growth media. We have also discussed potential development of novel cell separation setups capable of providing selective cell retention and cell separation capabilities.