Question

Immobilization techniques and its application on secondary metabolite production

Answer 1

Plant cells can be made immobile or immovable and used in culture systems. The cells are physically immobilized by entrapment. Besides individual cells, it is also possible to immobilize aggregate cells or even calluses. Homogenous suspensions of cells are most suitable for immobilization.

Surface immobilized plant cell (SIPC) technique efficiently retains the cells and allows them to grow at a higher rate. Further, through immobilization, there is better cell-to-cell contact, and the cells are protected from high liquid shear stresses. All this helps in the maximal production the secondary metabolite.