Sterilin Limited, the newly formed life sciences company, formerly part of Barloworld, has introduced the Iwaki range of tissue culture products.
With a distinctive purple cap, Iwaki branded tissue culture products consists of standard non-treated and tissue culture treated ware, and also offers an extensive range of substrate-coated products in order to combat problems associated with in vitro cell culture.
Standard cell culture products are not suitable for all applications, and problems often arise when attempting to culture cells in vitro, as a result of encouraging them to grow on an unnatural plastic or glass base rather than on the macromolecular connective tissue which normally binds them together in vivo.
This connective tissue, known as the extracellular matrix, generally consists of proteins, polysaccharides and proteoglycans. When cultured in contact with extracellular matrix proteins, cells that are usually difficult to nurture in artificial environments will form a monolayer of cells showing improved cell attachment and growth.
The Iwaki coated ware range ensures reproducibility and consistency of results, says Sterilin. In addition, it offers considerable time savings over "home-made" products and will demonstrate lower serum requirements. The culture substrates available in the Iwaki range include collagen type 1, fibronectin, gelatin and poly-L-lysine, polyethylene imine and Iwaki's unique thin collagen gel membrane.