Technical Resources
1. Tech Support
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2. Glossary
Adherent Cultures
Cultures of cells that are attached to a natural or artificial substrate. Often referred to as monolayer cultures, but may be expanded to include multilamellar cultures.
Cell Culture
Growth of cells dissociated from the parent tissue by spontaneous migration or mechanical or enzymatic dispersal.
Cell Strain
A characterized cell line derived by selection or cloning.
Confluent
Where all the cells are in contact all around their periphery with other cells, and no available substrate is left uncovered.
Differentiation
A term implying irreversible loss of the specialized properties that a cell would have expressed in vivo. As evidence accumulates that cultures "differentiate" by a combination of selection of undifferentiated cells or stromal cells and deadaptation resulting from the absence of the appropriate inducers, this term is going out favor. It is still correctly applied to progressive loss of differentiated morphology in histological observations of, for example, tumor tissue.
Explant
A fragment of tissue transplanted from its original in vivo location and maintained in vitro in a nutrient medium.
Medium
A mixture of inorganic salts and NUTRIENTS capable of sustaining cells survival in vitro for a 24 hours period. Growth medium, A medium that supplies the nutrients necessary for sustained in vitro cellular proliferation. Maintenance medium, A medium that will support cell survival and limited biological function but not sustained proliferation.
Organ Culture
The maintenance or growth of organ tissues which supports differentiation and preservation of normal tissue architecture or function.
Organ
A composite of tissues with defined structure and function.
Passage
Successful transposition of cells from an original culture container to another culture vessel; synonymous with subculture.
Population Doubling
The interval required by a cell population to double in density (or concentration). Example: one week after seeding a T-75 flask with the standard inoculum of 7.5 X 105 cells, the harvest contained 6.0 X 106 cells. The population doublings is calculated by the formula Nh/Ni = 2x (where Nh = cell harvest number, Ni = cell inoculum number, ad X = the number of population doublings). Then, 6.0 X 106 cells/7.5 X 105 cells = 2x, or log (6 X 106) - log (7.5X5) = X log 2. Therefore, X = 3.
Primary Culture
A culture started from cells, tissue, or organs taken directly from an organism and before the first subculture.
Seeding Efficiency
The percentage of the inoculum that attaches to the substrate within a stated period of time (implying viability, or survival, but not necessarily proliferate capacity).
Split Ratio
The divisor of the dilution ration of a cell culture at subculture, e.g., one flask divided into four or 100 ml up to 400 ml would be a split ratio of 4.
Subconfluent
Less than confluent. All of the available substrate is not covered.
Substrate
The matrix or solid underlay upon which a monolayer culture grows.
Suspension Cultures
Cultures of free-floating cells not attached to substrate. Suspension requires agitation provided by mixing, stirring, spinning, or sparging. Suspension cultures may be monodisperse (single cell) or aggregated (clusters).
Tissue Culture
Properly, the maintenance of fragments of tissue in vitro but now commonly applied as a generic term to include tissue explant culture, organ culture, and dispersed cell culture, including the culture of propagated cell lines and cells strains.
Tissue
An aggregate of cells of the same type.