Studies in Viable Cell Immobilization

Devoted to viable systems, this text provides material on the theoretical and practical aspects of this emerging technology based on the authors' experience with immobilized cells. Divided into two parts, it begins with an evaluation of the merits of the technology, providing a comprehensive review with supporting examples taken from the authors' laboratory where biomass support particle (BSP) systems are studied extensively. The second part of the text considers current theoretical thinking, presenting advances in the theoretical understanding of the mechanisms underlying the behaviour of viable calls in the immobilized state. Mass transfer and reaction of interactions are examined, and a modelling approach to reflect the dynamic nature and the spatial arrangement of viable immobilized cells is introduced.