Disposable bioreactors for cultivation of plant cell cultures

The trend for using disposable bioreactors in modern biotechnological processes has also been adopted for plant cell cultivations. In fact, plant cell cultures are now being grown in disposable bioreactors with volumes up to 400 L. This trend has been witnessed for both the development and commercial manufacture of therapeutic proteins, secondary metabolite-based pharmaceuticals and cosmetic compounds. Prominent examples of commercial products are Protalix's ELELYSO and Mibelle Biochemistry's Phyto Cell Tech-derived bioactive compounds. This chapter discusses the current state of disposable bioreactor technology for plant cell cultures. After a brief introduction to the general fundamentals of disposable bioreactors (relevant technical terms, advantages and limitations of disposable bioreactors) a current overview of disposable plant cell bioreactors and their instrumentation will be provided. We will describe the working principles and engineering characteristics of disposable bioreactor types that are scalable and successfully being used for the cultivation of plant cell suspension and hairy root cultures. In addition, we will provide selected application examples focusing on the cultivation of geraniol producing tobacco cells. The chapter will end with perspective on future developments of disposable bioreactor technology for plant cell cultures