Matthew E. Jurek Week 2

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Part 1

• Initially, the model was launched without nutrients (initial concentration= 0). Obviously the cells died as seen in the following image, No Nutrients. The inflow rate was increased and the cells died faster, Increased Inflow. Initially this was surprising, however it appears the increased inflow forces viable cells out quicker resulting in a greater death rate. This would explain the difference between the death of those cells in the presence of no nutrients, versus those in the presence of an increased flow. Next, the nutrient saturation was adjusted, leaving the inflow rate the same as the previous trial. It was thought the increase in nutrient saturation would decrease cell death, however this was not necessarily the case. The death rate is very similar to the previous trial, but the nutrient level is slightly higher, Increased Nutrient Saturation. With the increased nutrient saturation, the cells life-span is not much different than those seen in the previous image. There is a slight difference in the amount of nutrients as the saturation is higher. Seeing that the cell death was similar amongst the 3 initial trials, impeding this process became the focus. The nutrients coming into the chemostat were increased which had a positive impact on cell life, More Nutrients Coming In. This change had the greatest impact on cell life compared to the previous three trials. There are a handful of variables to this system and understanding how each variable works within the system is crucial to understanding how the entire system works. As expected, nutrients play a key role in survival. Increasing the nutrient saturation rate and increasing the nutrients entering the system both had a positive impact on the life of the cells within the system. One unexpected result was the inflow rate. Increasing this without accounting for more nutrients had a negative impact on the cells. It appears an increased inflow flushes out cells within the system leading to a greater death rate. Decreasing the inflow rate while increasing the nutrients available and increasing the efficiency rate would have the greatest impact on cell viability.