Viscous reduction of turbulent damage in animal cell culture

Animal cells are exposed to turbulent fluid flow in many cell culture processes. If the turbulence in the flow is sufficiently strong, the cells will be damaged or killed by fluid-mechanical forces. Through an increase in viscosity, the turbulence can be damped and the hydro-dynamic damage can be reduced. In this article, new experimental results are presented which illustrate the protective effect of thickening agents. The results follow the prediction of a model based on Kolmogorov's theory of universal equilibrium in turbulent flow fields.