Density Gradient Media – News and Views

One of the focuses of tissue engineering and regenerative medicine research is the efficient in vitro growth of cells from biopsy material on a plastic substratum, as a prelude to its eventual use clinically. A recent paper by Bruce et al [1] reported on the culture of urothelial cells from non-neurogenic and neurogenic human bladder tissue. The publication described the suspension of the cells in a 12% (w/v) iodixanol solution, overlaid with a small layer of culture medium. During centrifugation this allowed the viable epithelial cells to float to the surface while non viable cells, debris and erythrocytes sediment. The absence of an interface at which viable cells and non-viable cells might aggregate together is a critical feature of this system. The authors reported that the iodixanol “clean-up” increased the percentage of attached cells 24 h after plating from 27%  to 84% and that multiple large colonies of cells were observed with the purified cells.

¨        The well-established low endotoxin levels in OptiPrep and the clinical acceptability of iodixanol as an X-ray imaging agent underline the importance of applications in tissue engineering and regenerative medicine research

1. Bruce, A.T., Sangha, N., Richmond, A., Johnson, K., Jones, S., Spencer, T. and Ludlow, J.W. (2010) Use of iodixanol self-generated density gradients to enrich for viable urothelial cells from non-neurogenic and neurogenic bladder tissue Tissue Eng., Part C Methods 16, 33-40

Axis-Shield Application Sheet C13 provides detailed methodological options for viable cell enrichment and can be accessed by clicking here.

Written by JohnG
Filed under: Cells