A Spinner is a type of bioreactor which features an impeller, stirrer or similar device to agitate the contents (usually a mixture of cells, medium and products like proteins that can be harvested). [1] The vessels are usually made out of glass or stainless steel with port holes to accommodate sensors, Medium input or gas flow.
Spinner type vessels are used for mammalian or plant cell culture. They are adequate for cell suspensions and attachment dependent cell types.
The spinner culture method (Fig. 2B) creates spheroids using a spinner flask to seed stem cells within a uniform, well-mixed single cell suspension. The fluid environment and mass transfer in the flask are controlled by convective forces generated by an impeller or a magnetic stir bar. Hence the constant rotational speed rate by this method is critical for successful spheroid formation. However, the disadvantages of this approach are that rotational forces may cause shear stress resulting in cell damage, and a lack of control over spheroid shape.
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