Technical library - RESOURCES

Our Chondrocyte Growth Medium consists of an optimized basal media formulation and is supplemented with 10 % (v/v) fetal calf serum that has undergone stringent biological controls.

Our Osteoblast Supplement consists of FCS (10 % [v/v] final concentration) which is specifically tested to support optimal growth of Normal Human Osteoblasts.

We get 5-8 new lots of adult MNC (C-12907) every month (> 15 vials each). Cord blood MNC (C-12901) are smaller lots (5-10 vials), we get 2-4 new lots every month.

Our Nasal Epithelial Cells are isolated from nasal septum or adenoids.

Yes, but remember to thaw and seed the cells in our growth factor containing Airway Epithelial Cell Growth Medium as the cells need to expand and proliferate for some days.

Always use a seeding density of 150.000 cells/cm², even if you plate the cells on transwells directly after thawing. Do not forget to coat the inserts with 30 µg/ml Collagen Type I solution (e.g., Corning Inc^®., product number 354236) before you seed the cells.

The PromoCell Basal Media must be stored between 4-8°C and should not be frozen, as this can lead to precipitations. The same is true after addition of the supplements: the complete medium has to be kept at 4-8°C. If you prefer to make up smaller volumes of complete medium, you can aliquot the Supplement Mix and refreeze those aliquots at -20°C until use. This way you can extend the period in which you can use the supplemented media.

The majority of our skin tissue donors are caucasians. But occasionally we also get skin biopsies from asian and black donors.

Please contact our Scientific Support if you need cells from a particular phototype or origin. They will check our inventory and send you a list of available cell lots.

We recommend a seeding density for chondrocytes between 10,000 and 20,000 cells/cm². This means that a subconfluent T25-flask with approx. 900,000 cells/T25 flask (36,000 cells/cm² ) may be either split into 3 new T25 or seeded in one T75 flask or in one 100 mm petri dish. We do not recommend a specific type or brand for the culture of HCH.

The Chondrocyte Growth Medium SupplementMix consists of Fetal Calf Serum (final concentration 10 % v/v) which has specifically been tested for the culture of primary chondrocytes. FCS contains a variety of different growth factors, which are however, not analyzed in more detail. There are no further growth factors added to the SupplementMix.

The optimal calcium concentration for both proliferation and differentiation of keratinocytes depends on the species and also on the media formulation. To keep primary human keratinocytes in the proliferative status, concentrations between 0.03 and 0.15 mM (PromoCell Keratinocyte Growth Medium 2: 0.06 mM) are generally used. Increasing the calcium above 1 mM will induce terminal differentiation and lead to the loss of proliferative activity.

No, we don't perform CD90 immunomagnetic separation with our pericytes. We can however exclude fibroblast contamination as follows: 1) The presence of fibroblasts in our pericyte cultures would be detectable shortly after cell isolation, as pericytes need up to 2 weeks before they start proliferating. Fibroblasts on the other hand would proliferate immediately and overgrow the culture. 2) Characterization of the isolated pericytes during QC includes flow cytometry of CD146. Pericytes express CD146 whereas placental fibroblasts don't.

CD146 (MUC18) is a surface marker, expressed on pericytes, MSCs, and endothelial cells from large vessels (but not microvascular endothelial cells). In combination with CD34 (a marker for endothelial and hematopoietic cells), pericytes can be characterized by FACS analysis as CD146⁺/CD34^-. The absence of CD34 expression makes sure that the cells are not of hematopoietic/endothelial origin. Further markers that have been described for pericytes are NG2, CD90, alpha-SMA, and PDGFR-beta.