Suspension culture

A cell suspension or suspension culture is a type of cell culture in which single cells or small aggregates of cells are allowed to function and multiply in an agitated growth medium, thus forming a suspension. Suspension culture is one of the two classical types of cell culture, the other being adherent culture. The history of suspension cell culture closely aligns with the history of cell culture overall, but differs in maintenance methods and commercial applications. The cells themselves can either be derived from homogenized tissue or from heterogenous cell solutions. Suspension cell culture is commonly used to culture nonadhesive cell lines like hematopoietic cells, plant cells, and insect cells. While some cell lines are cultured in suspension, the majority of commercially available mammalian cell lines are adherent. Suspension cell cultures must be agitated to maintain cells in suspension, and may require specialized equipment (e.g. magnetic stir plate, orbital shakers, incubators) and flasks (e.g. culture flasks, spinner flasks, shaker flasks). These cultures need to be maintained with nutrient containing media and cultured in a specific cell density range to avoid cell death.