Suspension cultures

Suspension cultures are cell cultures kept in liquid media, floating free rather than attached to a surface inside the culture vessel. They can include cultures of plants, animals, and microorganisms, and may be used in the manufacture of fermented foods and beverages such as dairy products, beer, and wines, but also for more specialized purposes such as producing enzymes, flavours, and therapeutic proteins. Scale-up in stirred bioreactors makes them the platform for industrial biotechnology, where controlling oxygen, pH, and nutrients decides productivity.