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Cell Biology

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The components media are made from, the stains used to look at what grows, and the reagents that keep both sterile. Cells are more sensitive to what a supplier does not test for than to what appears on a chemical certificate, which is why the specification here is dominated by biological testing rather than by assay.

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Listed on the TSS storefront and searchable there by name or CAS number. Every enquiry is contracted and invoiced by Taitil Global Inc. in the United States or Europe.

Specifying it

What decides the purchase

The compound is usually fixed by the route. These are the things that vary between suppliers and between lots.

  1. Endotoxin is the specification that usually decides it

    Endotoxin at levels invisible to any chemical test will alter proliferation, differentiation and cytokine response, and it survives autoclaving. For anything touching cells, the certificate needs an endotoxin figure from an LAL test with a stated limit. A component without one has not been shown to be suitable, whatever its chemical purity.

  2. How it was sterilised changes what survives

    Filter sterilisation at 0.22 µm, autoclaving and gamma irradiation are not equivalent. Heat degrades glutamine and several vitamins; irradiation can generate reactive species in some formulations. If a component is heat-labile, specify filter sterilisation rather than accepting whatever the standard process is.

  3. Animal-origin-free status, and whether it is documented

    For anything heading toward clinical or regulated use, animal-derived components bring viral and TSE risk that has to be traced and justified. Animal-origin-free and chemically defined alternatives exist for most classes. The useful question is not whether a supplier says it is AOF but whether they will document the origin of every input.

  4. Lot testing, because cells notice what assays do not

    Serum and complex components vary between lots in ways no specification fully captures, and a cell line that grew well on one lot can behave differently on the next. Where this matters, ask whether lot reservation is possible so a tested lot can be held for the duration of a study rather than replaced mid-experiment.

Questions

What endotoxin limit should I ask for?
It depends on the application rather than on a universal figure. Routine culture typically works within a limit in the range of a few endotoxin units per millilitre of final medium; primary cells, stem cells and anything heading toward in vivo work need considerably lower. Specify the limit for the final formulation and work backwards to the component, since limits compound across the ingredients.
Is filter sterilisation always better than autoclaving?
Not always, but it is gentler. Autoclaving degrades heat-labile components — glutamine hydrolyses, several vitamins break down, and sugars can caramelise in the presence of amino acids. For heat-stable inorganic components autoclaving is simpler and equally effective. The point is to match the method to the molecule rather than to accept a default.
Can a specific lot be reserved?
Often, for components where lot variation is known to matter. It is worth arranging when a study will run longer than a single order cycle, because switching lot mid-study introduces a variable that is very hard to separate from the result afterwards. Ask at enquiry — reservation is easier to arrange before the lot is allocated than after.