Cell culture device

A cell culture device for the production of metabolites, comprising;

• (i) a housing (D),
• (ii) a cell culture space (X), within said housing,
• (iii) fresh nutrient medium inlet and outlet means, connected, in parallel, to a sheet of tubes (T) forming a wall of said culture space (X) and in fluid communication with said culture space,
• (iv) at least a subset of open-ended permeable capillaries (C) arranged in a layer within said culture space, whereby the open ends of said capillaries lead to external inlet and outlet gas means and in gaseous communication with the interior of said capillaries, said capillaries being arranged at approximately equal intervals so as to form, on one side of said sheet of tubes (T), one subset allowing an homogeneous distribution for the gas exchanges wit the cells,
• (v) a spent medium outlet means connected to a micron sieve (M) forming each downstream wall of the cell culture space, in order to ensure that the cells are confined while allowing the spent medium to leave,
• wherein said sheet of tubes (T), in connection with fresh nutrient medium inlet and outlet means, which are structured in a closed-loop circuit, are constructed so as to provide when fresh nutrient medium is passing through said circuit, simultaneously a first flow of fresh medium through each of said tubes, from nd to end and a second flow of fresh medium perpendicular to said first flow, from said tubes to said cell culture space (X), through their permeable walls.