FAQ

Heat-inactivation (heating to 56°C for 45 min) inactivates proteases of the complement system. This could be important for cells which are difficult to culture, or cells which will be used to prepare or assay viruses, used in cytotoxicity assays or other systems where complement may have an unwanted influence. On the other hand, heat inactivation may deplete serum growth factors.

The DSMZ cell lines were all propagated in FBS/FCS (fetal bovine/calf serum) or HS (horse serum). With one exception (PB-1, ACC-no. 241) we use only heat-inactivated serum.

The media we use are currently sourced from Invitrogen. This, however, should not be taken as an endorsement. All media contain L-glutamine.

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.

Seal the reaction tubes with Parafilm and wrap carefully. Send the samples unchilled by conventional mail or courier chosen to ensure same-week delivery.

If you prefer to send frozen cultures, add sufficient dry ice (about 4 kg) and send by courier for same-week delivery.

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