Plant Cell Culture. Plant cells in liquid suspension culture can make valuable pharmaceutical compounds through a variety of biosynthetic pathways. Usually, significant levels of secondary metabolites are expressed only at very high cell density near the end of the growth phase. Dr. Rorrer s laboratory is studying the fundamentals of mixing, shear sensitivity, and mass transfer in dense cell culture. Marine Plant Cell Culture for Biopharmaceuticals Production.
Marine plants can also produce valued biomedicinal compounds.
Controlled culture of a liquid suspension of marine plant cells in a bioreactor has the potential to enhance cell biomass growth rate, secondary metabolite biosynthesis, and concentration of desired natural products. This may lead to new and economically viable process biotechnology for producing novel and high-value pharmaceuticals derived from marine plants. This project is funded by NOAA and the Oregon Sea Grant Program. Professor William H. Gerwick of the College of Pharmacy at OSU is a collaborator on this project. Removal of Heavy Metals from Groundwater using Porous-Magnetic Biopolymer Beads.