Cell Culture: Products for Your 2D and 3D Workflows

Cell Culture Workflow:

Step 1: Cell seeding

Cell seeding is the first step of cell culture, which directly affects the reliability and reproducibility of experimental results. Therefore, ensuring the consistency of cell numbers is a key factor for successful experiments. Various laboratory tools play a crucial role in this process. For example, centrifuge tubes are used for cell collection and separation, and their transparent design facilitates the observation of cell sedimentation and ensures precise operation. Pipettes, one of the core tools for cell inoculation, are designed with a precise scale to help accurately measure cell suspensions or culture media to avoid fluctuations in cell counts. The pipette tips used in conjunction with them ensure no cross-contamination and increase the accuracy of the inoculation process. All of these products ensure the accuracy of cell inoculation while maintaining the cleanliness and safety of the experimental environment during subsequent experiments, providing a guarantee of stable and reproducible results.

Centrifuge Tubes

Serum Pipettes

Pipette tips

Step 2: Cell Expansion

Cell expansion is a crucial step in the cell culture process that provides the nutrients and support needed for cell growth. During this phase, cells are fully propagated in specific media and environmental conditions. It is crucial to choose a suitable culture medium, which provides the cells with the necessary energy, amino acids, vitamins and other substances to promote rapid cell growth. Depending on the cell line, the formulation of the medium will vary to ensure optimal growth conditions for the cells. Serum is an indispensable additive in the cell expansion process and is usually used to provide growth factors, hormones and other components that contribute to cell growth. 

There are several serum types available on the market, such as Fetal Bovine Serum (FBS), which is rich in growth factors to provide additional support to the cells. In order to accommodate and culture a large number of cells, culture flasks are essential laboratory equipment. Their large-capacity design provides ample space for cell growth, and the aeration properties of the flasks ensure the supply of oxygen to the cells. Choosing the right products, such as media, serums and flasks, will support your cell expansion and help you obtain efficient and stable cell populations for subsequent experimental studies.

Petri Culture Dishes

Step 3: Harvesting

Collecting and isolating cells is a critical step in cell culture and often includes techniques such as centrifugation, deep filtration and cell separation. These methods are effective in extracting the target cells from the culture medium, providing a pure cell sample for subsequent experiments. In this process, adherent cells first need to be separated from the surface of the cell culture flask or dish. Since the cells adhere to the culture surface during the incubation process, stripping them from the surface is the first step in cell collection.

A common method of separation is the use of trypsin or other enzymatic reagents, which break down the adhesion molecules between the cells and the culture surface, allowing the cells to be dislodged. After the cells have been dislodged, centrifugation effectively separates the cells from the culture medium to obtain a cell precipitate. To remove impurities or unseparated cell clusters from the cell culture fluid, deep filtration techniques can be used to filter out cell clumps and other large particulate matter. Finally, for specific types of cells, it may be necessary to use cell separation techniques such as immunomagnetic bead sorting or flow cytometry in order to accurately isolate the target cells. These steps ensure the purity and quality of the cells used in the experiment and provide a reliable basis for subsequent cell culture, analysis and experimentation.

Step 4: Detection

Now that your cells have been harvested, the next step is to take accurate readings. To ensure accurate and efficient data, you can choose from a variety of devices to detect cell counts and cell colonization. One of the most commonly used devices is the cell counter, which provides fast and accurate cell density data. By combining optical or electronic counting techniques, cell counters can easily distinguish between live and dead cells, thus providing valuable cellular information for experiments.

Meanwhile, readers, such as UV-visible spectrophotometers or fluorescence readers, are also important tools for assessing cell health and viability. They are able to measure the metabolic state of cells, protein expression and other key indicators based on changes in light absorption or emission. Choosing these precise instruments not only improves the reliability of experimental data, but also provides strong support for cellular research and ensures a smooth research process. Learn about microplate selection and imaging with our other resources.

Bacterial Colony Counter

Elisa Plate Reader

Auto cytometer

Step 5: Analysis

Through observation and analysis, you can study the growth, morphology and biological properties of the cells in depth. At this stage, choosing the right equipment will significantly improve the efficiency of the experiment and the accuracy of the data. Using a microscope, especially a high-resolution inverted microscope or fluorescence microscope, you can clearly observe the morphological changes, proliferation status and various biomarkers within the cells. Through staining or fluorescent labeling, you can perform more precise cell analysis and obtain more valuable data. For high-throughput experiments, microplate washers and readers are indispensable tools. A microplate washer efficiently removes residual liquid from the plate, ensuring accuracy and consistency from one experiment to the next. Readers can monitor cell growth, metabolism and other relevant indicators in real time through photometric or fluorescent signals.

Microscopes

Elisa Microplate Washer

Microplate Readers and Accessories

Step 6: Storage

There are many product options and technologies available when storing cells. For example, cryopreservation can help keep your cells safe over time for future research projects. Find vials, microplates, and media for cell storage.

Conlusion

In 2D cell culture, standard flasks, plates, and media support flat cell growth, whereas 3D cell culture requires specialized scaffolds and bioreactors to mimic a more natural environment. Utilizing these tailored tools not only improves the reproducibility of results but also supports more complex and relevant biological studies. By investing in high-quality products for your cell culture workflow, you ensure the success of your experiments and the generation of reliable data for advancing scientific understanding.