Research Laboratories and Universities
For many years, the standard method of culturing cells has been Petri dishes. More recently, micro-well plates with 24, 96 or even 384 small cavities have been adopted as standards. Although cells can be successful cultured in this environment, it is fundamentally different from what happens in the human body.
In-vivo cells are subject to a range of stimuli and stresses such as movement, pressure variations, varying oxygen and CO2 levels, all of which will influence the way the cells develop.
Kirkstall’s Quasi-Vivo® offers dynamic flow though interconnected cell cultures. It provides:
- Nutrient medium flow
- 3D rather than 2D cell cultures
- Cell-to-cell signalling between different cell types
The kit is flexible, easy to use and reasonably priced. No special training required and so laboratory assistants who already have the capability of growing cell cultures for static well plates will easily be able to use the system.
The system allows researchers to use a combination of different or specific cell types that they need to work on eg. Bladder, kidney and liver cells.
The system means that it is possible to grow chondrocytes ie. cartilage and bone – for tissue engineering applications. Cells can easily be grown on scaffolds in 3D, with the flow encouraging cells to grow more realistically and to provide better results.