The long range goal of this project is to develop polymer based microcarriers with novel surfaces which will support the growth of cells otherwise difficult or impossible to grow in vitro. These supports will be useful in small scale laboratory cell culture and will be easily adpatable to the large scale, highly efficient manufacture of cells and other tissue culture products. The proposed research will allow alteration of the microcarrier surface, independent of its bulk properties, without the necessity of post-treatment. This will be accomplished by modifying well- known suspension polymerization techniques to produce microcarrier beads with the desired surface chemical functionalities. In addition, the versatility of the supports and their manufacture will enable the creation of optimal growth surfaces for a wide variety of cells.
