Animal Cell Biotechnology, Volume 5

The Animal Cell Biotechnology series provides an in-depth state-of-the art coverage of a field which has developed into a multi-billion dollar industry over the last ten years. Written by leading experts, each volume contains well-referenced, fully-indexed reviews on practical and theoretical aspects of a specific subject, including: Bioreactor design and development Cell products and their development Downstream processing Product testing The main theme of this volume - applications of animal cells - has been broadened from the recurring theme of production of biologicals to the cells themselves as a product, and cells as a pharmacological/toxicological assay system. The need to replace animals in research and for the testing of drugs, foods and cosmetics is becoming increasingly critical as society has succeeded in making this a high profile ethical issue. It is the perceived belief that the best chance of reducing the use of animals will be to develop suitable assays based on cells in culture. Two chapters in this volume cover replacement animal cells and the use of skin cells for in vitro testing. Other chapters also detail the cell products tPA, Factor VIII, and Growth Factors. The basic tool is, of course, the cell and the text contains chapters on how to standardize the cell and process in order to achieve reproducible conditions, whether for production or assay purposes. Also featured is a review of immortalization techniques that can be used to construct new cell lines which fulfill the specialized criteria required of them. Finally a chapter on surface active agents is included.