MIT engineers solve the sticky-cell problem in bioreactors and other industries
Zach Winn | MIT
News
Publication Date: October 15, 2025
“To help mitigate climate change, companies are using bioreactors to grow algae and other microorganisms that are hundreds of times more efficient at absorbing CO2 than trees. Meanwhile, in the pharmaceutical industry, cell culture is used to manufacture biologic drugs and other advanced treatments, including lifesaving gene and cell therapies.
Both processes are hampered by cells’ tendency to stick to surfaces, which leads to a huge amount of waste and downtime for cleaning. A similar problem slows down biofuel production, interferes with biosensors and implants, and makes the food and beverage industry less efficient.
Now, MIT
researchers have developed an approach for detaching cells from surfaces on
demand, using electrochemically generated bubbles. In an open-access paper published
in Science Advances, the researchers demonstrated their
approach in a lab prototype and showed it could work across a range of cells
and surfaces without harming the cells….”, https://news.mit.edu/2025/mit-engineers-solve-sticky-cell-problem-bioreactors-and-other-industries-1015,
last accessed on October 15, 2025.
Credit: Joy Zheng