eBook: Optimizing Cell Culture Techniques - 4

Streamlining Cell Culture
Workflows with Advanced Pipettes
Innovative solutions to help overcome contamination,
viability and reproducibility challenges.
Cultured mammalian cells are a staple in both basic
cell biology research and therapeutics development.
They can be used to help researchers understand
how cells respond to their environment, and
in vitro studies are a key component of preclinical
trials to evaluate therapeutic safety and efficacy.
Growing cell cultures requires great skill1
to preserve
their structure, function, behavior, and biology-all
key for drawing correct scientific conclusions.
There are a variety of ways to grow mammalian
cells in culture: they may be grown in suspension
or adhered to a surface, and adherent cells can
even be coaxed to grow into 3D structures called
spheroids that better mimic tissue structure and
cell-cell interactions within tissues.2
But regardless
of the technique used to grow mammalian cells,
there are some key challenges faced by researchers.
In this eBook, we discuss how 96 and 384 channel
pipettes can help researchers overcome these
challenges and advance their research programs.
Key cell culture challenges
Contamination
Growing healthy, consistent, functional mammalian
cells in culture is no small task. Contamination
is a significant threat at nearly every stage at which
cultured cells are used, and utmost care must be
taken to ensure the cells aren't contaminated with
viruses, bacteria, or chemicals from the environment.3
Contaminated
cultures can set research
programs back weeks or even months and cost laboratories
a significant amount of money.
Viability
Viability is another challenge any researcher using
cell cultures must face. Contamination isn't
the only thing that can damage or kill cells and,
usually, very specific culture conditions are required
to maximize cell viability.4
Additionally, unless
the cell line is infinite, the cells can only endure
a certain number of division cycles before eventually
dying. Researchers must be prepared for this
by cryopreserving aliquots of their cell lines.
Reproducibility
Both contamination and viability impact one of the
most critical aspects of any scientific experiment
and also one of the most insidious problems facing
cell culture: reproducibility. The vast majority
of scientists struggle to reproduce not only their
colleagues' culture work, but even their own cell
culture experiments.5
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eBook: Optimizing Cell Culture Techniques

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of eBook: Optimizing Cell Culture Techniques
