Cultivation of iPS cells in suspension format is possible with some rich cell culture media formulations and under conditions that promote cells to aggregate (spheroids). The ABLE Bioreactor Magnetic Stir System has optimized stirring wings that gently mix iPSC spheroids with very low shear-forces. The 30 mL and 100 mL disposable bioreactors are all designed for passive air exchange, with a stirrer platform that provides constant slow speeds and low heat generation for use directly inside an environmentally controlled cell culture incubator. The maker of this device is ABLE Biott Corporation of Japan (http://www.able-biott.co.jp/en/).
Ajinomoto is a company name and product brand very well known in Japan. Largely a food and biochemical company, Ajinomoto has recently invested in cell culture and stem cell market opportunities. Their premier stem cell product is StemFit® Culture Medium for induced pluripotent stem cell cultivation. REPROCELL is a distributor of StemFit AKO2 medium in the Japan market, and StemFit Basic02 medium in the USA market, under the original Ajinomoto brand label.
The EZSPHERE product line-up of Asahi Glass Company (Japan), are plastic dishes and multi-well plates for mammalian cell culture. The entire surface of each EZSPHERE dish (or well) is engineered with micro-wells of specific dimensions, depending on the product. These micro-wells are laser etched and consequently highly consistent in size and depth. Furthermore, the plastic surfaces are treated with a compatible coating that prevents cell adherence. There are two types of coatings; MPC-polymer coating and SP-polymer coating. Both are functionally equivalent in performance but differ chemically. The MPC-coating is biochemically similar to lipid membrane components, while the SP-polymer is a stably-bonded organic coating with extremely minimal leaching. Cells cultured on a single EZSPHERE plate will form hundreds to thousands of uniform-sized aggregates (spheroids), depending on the plate configuration.
The EZ-OPEN Tissue Culture Flask line-up are standard non-coated plasticware flasks with resilient but easily removable peel-way surfaces. This peel-away cover allows for easy access to cultured cells, resulting in improved yields during harvesting. Asahi Glass’s EZ-Open open-top flasks are standard non-coated plasticware flasks with resilient but easily removable peel-way surfaces for tissue culture applications. This peel-away cover allows for easy access to cultured cells, resulting in improved yields during harvesting.
A leader in cell culture media development and manufacturing, Biological Industries (BI) has a worldwide reputation for excellence. REPROCELL is a licensed provider of selected products and a user of BI media for stem cell services and internal research. REPROCELL’s industry leading iPSC reprogramming technologies are optimized using NutriStem hPSC XF Medium, because it gives optimal performance and the highest efficiencies. REPROCELL provides products labeled with the original packaging and branding of Biological Industries. Headquartered in Israel, Biological Industries also has a facility in Cromwell, CT (USA).
The iMatrix name is a brand of Matrixome (www.matrixome.co.jp/en), a company focused on cell culture reagents. Founded in 2015, the major shareholder is Nippi, Inc. (Japan). The products are primarily proteins or biomaterials that provide scaffolding for mammalian cells to adhere to culture plates for various applications. The iMatrix-511 product of Matrixome is a proteolytic derivative of human laminin that interact swith integrin-protein subtypes which are transmembrane proteins on the surface of human cells (www.matrixome.co.jp/en/about/background). The iMatrix-511 protein is a very popular and effective surface matrix for cultivation of induced pluripotent stem cells. Other kinds of iMartrix products have also available from Matrixome for other cell culture applications. REPROCELL’s portolio includes only products relevant to stem cell research.
Atelocollagen is a product of Koken Pharma company (Japan). The AteloGene brand products are tools for molecular delivery and AteloCell brand products are scaffolds for cell culture. Atelocollagen is a proteolytic digest of native bovine collagen that displays low antigenicity and high biodegradability. The non-helical telopeptides from both ends of Type 1 collagen are removed, and the remaining high molecular weight helical protein is purified and assembled into many formats suitable for mammalian cell culture applications and in vivo implantation. Atelocollagen is a stable scaffold in vitro, and may last up to 3 months upon implantation depending on the product.
SynFire neurons from Neucyte Labs are pure and ready-to-use iPSC-derived glutamatergic or GABAergic induced neurons (iNs) and astroglia. This platform most closely resembles real human neurobiology observed in primary cultures, providing the ability to effectively study the function of human neurons in vitro.
