Trends in Cell Culture: Survey Results
Ranking of the most often used cells and media
The purpose of the survey was to determine the cell lines, which Biochrom AG customers actually use. This is the only way that the company will be able to adjust its research and quality to customer requirements in the long-term. "We were very pleased with the positive response. Many customers went to the trouble to also express in detail their wishes for the future. At this point I would like to thank all participants and assure them that we will use the results to the benefit of our customers," adds Dr. Wolfgang Höckh, Chairman of Biochrom AG.
The results of the survey are now completed. Rankings have been prepared for cell lines and media. According to the ranking, the most often used cell lines are HEK 293 cells, followed by Hela and CHO-K1, as well as fibroblasts, tumour cells, and HUVEC as primary cells. Cell lines like HEK 293 and CHO-K1 are easy to cultivate and transfect. They are therefore ide-ally suited for the study of overexpressed proteins. For experiments on the behaviour of cells, primary cells like fibroblasts are better suited.
Favourite among the media is the DMEM medium, followed by RPMI 1640, DMEM/Ham's F-12, MEM, Ham's F-12 and Medium 199. As medium selection always depends on the cell line used, the result matches expectations: For the HEK-293 cells, for example, both Bio-chrom AG as well as Deutsche Sammlung von Mikroorganismen und Zellkulturen GmbH (DSMZ) recommend the DMEM Medium for cultivation.
The clear trend in the application of media shows a direction towards serum-free, chemically defined media. Sera are undefined natural products and are therefore subject to natural variations in quality. In addition to growth-promoting substances, they can also contain unde-sirable components (e.g. complement system). Since cell cultures are also used more and more frequently in medicine and in the production of pharmaceuticals, any unknown influ-ences in cultivation must be excluded. Serum-free media allow for controlled and reproduci-ble studies, owing to their controlled and reproducible medium composition.
Biochrom AG has already picked up on this trend: With Biofreeze and Proxyferrin, two new products were developed that meet these requirements. Biofreeze is a serum-free freezing medium and can be applied as a replacement for serum-containing freezing media. Proxyfer-rin is a transferrin replacement. It binds iron and zinc ions just as well as transferrin, but has the advantage of chemically defined components, which are not of animal origin. It can be applied in serum-free chemically defined media.
