Technical library

Selecting an appropriate culture medium is a critical factor in successful in vitro cell cultivation and can significantly influence experimental outcomes - from early research stages through to translational or clinical applications.
Because primary cells and research applications have highly specific and variable requirements, PromoCell offers a broad portfolio of advanced media formulations, including:

• serum‑free (SF)
• xeno‑free (XF)
• animal‑component‑free (ACF)
• chemically defined formulations

How we support you
PromoCell provides a comprehensive guideline for the characterization and qualification of cell culture media and reagents, helping you to:

• understand formulation categories and terminology
• assess suitability for your application
• evaluate the impact on downstream applications (e.g. reproducibility, regulatory compatibility)

Further information: An overview of the different advanced cell culture media formulations, including their characteristics and applications, is available on our Cell Culture Media Formulations webpage.
Our Scientific Support team will be happy to assist you with selecting the most suitable medium formulation for your specific application and study requirements.

No. Macrophages require cytokine support for survival.
Without cytokines, macrophages will die very quickly, even when cultured in otherwise complete medium. To maintain viability, Macrophage Base Medium XF (basal medium + SupplementMix) must be supplemented with:

• the appropriate cytokines (e.g. GM‑CSF or M‑CSF, depending on macrophage type), or
• at least human AB serum as a minimal survival support.

Yes. The Primary Cancer Culture System (PCCS, C‑28081) supports cancer stem cells (CSC) independent of their tissue origin. Therefore, it can also be used for CSCs derived from blood cancers.
 
Important modification for suspension cells
When working with suspension cells, PromoCell recommends not coating the culture vessel surface with the NCCD reagent.
Instead:

• Add 12.5 µl NCCD per ml of PCCS medium directly to the culture medium.
• Seed the suspension cells directly into the supplemented PCCS medium.

This approach ensures optimal conditions for CSC survival and maintenance in suspension cultures.

Yes. PromoCell’s Cancer Media Toolbox, including:

• Primary Cancer Culture System (PCCS)
• 3D Tumorsphere Medium XF
• Cancer Cell Line Medium XF

has also been shown to support the growth of murine tumor cells.

Yes. The Primary Cancer Culture System (PCCS, Cat. No. C‑28081) is highly suitable for the isolation of cancer stem cells (CSCs) from fresh tumor tissue.
PCCS is designed to be highly selective for cancer stem cells. Under these culture conditions:

• Cancer stem cells are maintained and enriched
• Differentiated tumor cells and non‑malignant cells are eliminated within a short time
• The resulting culture is therefore strongly enriched for CSC‑like cells

This selectivity makes PCCS particularly well suited for establishing patient‑derived cancer stem cell cultures.
For additional details and experimental background, please refer to the Application Note: "Isolation of patient-derived primary cancer cells".

In the Primary Cancer Culture System (PCCS, C‑28081), only malignant tumor cells are supported.

As a result:

• Benign animal cells, such as fibroblasts, are not supported and are depleted under PCCS conditions.
• Malignant human tumor cells survive and can be maintained in culture.

This selective culture environment enables the enrichment of malignant human tumor cells while eliminating benign animal cell contamination.

Alcian Blue stains cartilage‑specific components of the extracellular matrix (ECM) produced by chondrocytes, most notably aggrecan and other sulfated glycosaminoglycans (GAGs).
However, to our knowledge, chondrocytes express significant amounts of aggrecan only when cultured in a 3‑D environment, such as spheroids or pellet cultures, and not when grown in conventional 2‑D monolayer culture. Therefore, Alcian Blue staining is generally not suitable for detecting cartilage matrix in monolayer‑cultured chondrocytes.

PromoCell Skeletal Muscle Cells (SkMC) are primarily isolated from the pectoralis muscle (M. pectoralis).
In some cases, SkMC may also be isolated from other skeletal muscles, including:

• Gastrocnemius muscle (M. gastrocnemius)
• Intercostal muscles (Mm. intercostales)
• Gluteus maximus muscle (M. gluteus maximus)

The exact anatomical origin of the tissue used for a particular cell lot is documented in the corresponding Certificate of Analysis (CoA).

Note: If a specific muscle origin is required for your study, our Scientific Support team will be happy to assist you in identifying suitable cell lots.

PromoCell’s Trypsin Neutralization Solution (TNS) contains 0.05% (w/v) trypsin inhibitor from soybean, dissolved in Hepes‑BSS supplemented with 0.1% BSA.

Yes. The SupplementMix can be aliquoted upon delivery and stored frozen.
You can prepare 2 or 4 aliquots and store them at -20°C. This allows you to conveniently prepare smaller volumes of complete medium, for example:

• 2 × 250 ml, or
• 4 × 125 ml.

Aliquoting the SupplementMix helps extend the usable lifetime of the medium and reduces unnecessary freeze-thaw cycles.