What is the Difference Between Adherent and Suspension Cells?

The main difference between adherent and suspension cells lies in the way they are cultured and their growth properties. Here are the key differences:

• Adherent Cell Culture: In adherent cell culture, cells are grown while attached to a substrate as monolayers. Adherent cells are appropriate for most cell types, including primary cultures, and are the majority of cells derived from vertebrates. However, they are limited by the surface area of the culture surface, which may limit product yield for large-scale applications.
• Advantages of Adherent Cell Culture: Adherent cultures are primarily used for cytology, regular and continuous harvest of cellular products, and other research applications. They allow easy visual inspection and are suitable for most cell types.
• Disadvantages of Adherent Cell Culture: Cells grown in 2D monolayers may not accurately reflect in-vivo like cell structure or function, which can affect drug response studies.
• Suspension Cell Culture: In suspension cell culture, cells are free-floating in the culture medium. Suspension cells are appropriate for cells adapted to suspension culture and a few other cell lines that are nonadhesive, such as hematopoietic cell lines.
• Advantages of Suspension Cell Culture: Suspension cultures have widespread industry applications, such as bulk protein production (enzymes, etc.) and batch harvesting. Smaller scale suspension cultures can also serve as excellent platforms for 3D cell cultures that encourage cells to grow in an in-vivo 3D fashion, with in-vivo like structure and extracellular matrix interactions.
• Disadvantages of Suspension Cell Culture: Adapting cells to suspension culture can be more complex, and cells cultured in suspension may require specific culture vessels and agitation for proper gas exchange.

In summary, adherent cell culture is more suitable for cells that require attachment to a substrate and are typically used for cytology and cellular product harvesting, while suspension cell culture is more appropriate for cells that can grow freely in the culture medium and have applications in bulk protein production and 3D cell cultures. The choice between adherent and suspension cell culture depends on factors such as cell type, scale, resources, and the specific requirements of the research or application.

Comparative Table: Adherent vs Suspension Cells

Here is a table comparing the differences between adherent and suspension cells:

Adherent cells are attached to a surface, whereas suspension cells float freely in the culture medium. Adherent cells attachment to the surface of culture flasks and dishes, growth is limited by the surface area of the plate or flask. On the other hand, suspension cells do not attach and remain floating in the culture medium, and their growth is not limited by the surface area but by the density of cells in the culture.