FAQ

Detailed information is provided either in the relevant entry in our online catalogue as well as in our comprehensive DMSZCellDive database. DSMZCellDive provides in addition to the information provided in the DSMZ online catalogue also data about e.g. gene expression profiles, STR profile or COI DNA Barconding.

After you obtained cell lines from the DSMZ open collection, please do not pass them on to any third party unless it is permitted by the DSMZ. Provision of DSMZ cell lines to third parties is regulated by the terms and conditions of the DSMZ. Please familiarize yourself with these rules, as you accepted them by ordering a cell line and therefore are legally bound by them.
The cell lines distributed from the DSMZ open collection are those that have been deposited by the entities or persons which possess intellectual property rights of those cell lines. The DSMZ has been granted the right to make these cell lines available as service to the scientific community, in accordance with the wishes of the depositors. Some cell lines are exclusively available at the DSMZ open collection. Please do not purchase exclusive DSMZ cell lines if they are sold by other entities.
Distribution of DSMZ cell lines to third parties, or obtaining exclusive DSMZ cell lines from other entities other than the DSMZ (except the establisher / establishing institution itself), are both infringements of the intellecutual property rights of entities which generated those cell lines. Activities described above may be entirely illegal.

Bioresources purchased from DSMZ may not be used for commercial purposes. Exceptions to this are regulated in our General Terms and Conditions (§10 para. 4). Please use our contact form to address your request.

We believe that passage numbers are unreliable criteria for ageing cell lines. Given that "passage" is defined as the trypsination of a culture and its subsequent re-seeding, passage-numbering arbitrarily depends on the split ratio used by the individual cell culturist. Thus, if operator A splits 1:2, and B 1:4, they will end up with two different passage numbers ("B" half of "A"), even though both cell cultures will have been growing for the same time period.

The forms of delivery are indicated for every individual cell line in the respective entry in our online catalogue. In addition to the cell line itself, it is also possible to buy only DNA.