There are a couple of things to consider when choosing the right home or “culture vessel” for your cells. One is dictated by the cells themselves and the other is your intended downstream analysis so here is a brief guide to navigating this.
Untreated, Treated, Or Coated?
The absence, presence, or type of surface used is well known to influence everything from adhesion and proliferation to phenotype. Experimentally this can mean everything from “failure to launch” I.e., cell death, to observing different experimental results, and anyone who has done cell culture will know this can occur even with theoretically identical experimental conditions, therefore starting out right is imperative.
Here is a summary of the main types but it is worth researching your intended cell type specifically and understanding its native environment so you can be sure you are providing it with the right home:
Untreated -Hydrophobic surface
Surface Treated – Treated to impart polarity/charge
Coated Surface Options
Flask? Dish? Plate? Bioreactor? Other?
The other consideration mentioned is the “style” of the culture vessel and depends on the task at hand and the downstream analysis you need to conduct. The section below will briefly go through the normal and basic options but there are others so please reach out to us today to see what options might be best for your cells needs!
Flasks
SPL Life Sciences’ culture flasks are ergonomically created for simple handling while minimizing contamination during cell culture. Serological pipettes and cell scrapers can be easily accessed thanks to the neck’s short, wide, and angled form. According to the scale of the culture and the type of cap, flasks are categorized into six categories. T12.5, T25, T75, T175 and T225 each have a cell growth area of 12.5 cm2, 25 cm2, 75 cm2, 175 cm2 and 225 cm2, respectively. Filter or plug caps may be included with each flask.
Note: When incubating flasks with plug-type caps, it is advised that the caps be slightly opened to facilitate gas exchange.
Dishes
SPL Life Sciences offer a comprehensive selection of cell culture dishes in the best quality. SPL culture dishes are designed specifically for microscopy, including confocal, through the use of optically clear, high-quality polymers utilised in the production of all cell culture dishes. SPL also produce specialist dishes for any of your co-culturing needs too!
Plates
Cell culture plates are a staple of any experimental lab seeking to handle multiple samples in any given single experiment. SPL Life Sciences provide a wide range of multiwell plates, ranging from round, u or flat-bottomed. Their plate sizes are also in the traditional size ranges of 6, 12, 24, 48, 96 and 384 well. There are also specialist plates available for cellular imagining if required too!
Bioreactor Tubes
Life Sciences SPL Bioreactors are designed to cultivate mammalian cells and microorganism under suspension condition. All Bioreactor tubes are sterilized after complete packaging to eliminate contamination. The air circulation within the reactor can be controlled by the dial on the centre of the reactor cap and each bioreactor comes with 4 levels of ventilation. SPL Life Science Bioreactor tubes come in two sizes: 15 and 50 ml tubes
We hope this brief introduction to cell culutre plastics hasn’t made you yawn too hard! Please reach out to let us know if you are interested in any of the SPL range, have any questions about your needs or are interested in us writing a blog for those with more complex needs!
Wishing you and your cells the new home of a lifetime…or until the end of the Experiment or Assay!
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