CytoSoft® Discovery Kit

Overview

Cells can be cultured using CytoSoft^® products on PDMS substrates with a range of rigidities that cover a wide physiological range, including 0.2, 0.5, 2, 8, 16, 32, and 64 kPa. A 6-well plate of each stiffness (7 plates in total) is included in the CytoSoft^® Discovery Kit.

This CytoSoft^® product, Catalog Number 5190-7EA, comes in 7 separate 6-well plates with varying elastic moduli of approximately 0.2, 0.5, 2, 8, 16, 32, and 64 kPa. This kit gives users one plate of each stiffness, enabling them to test how the cells respond to a wide range of stiffness that is physiologically significant.

Image Credit: Advanced BioMatrix

Each dish contains a uniform layer of silicone gel that is about 0.5 mm thick and completely compatible with mammalian cell cultures. Prior to the addition of cells, the silicone gels are activated and prepared to bind to a purified ECM, such as PureCol^® type I collagen (#5005). There are 7 plates per package, and each plate is individually packaged and sterilized.

Features

• Cell morphology and gene expression can be significantly influenced by how rigid the substrate is to which cells adhere
• A tool for cell culture on substrates with different rigidities that cover a wide physiological range is offered by CytoSoft^® products
• A thin layer of specially formulated biocompatible silicone with an elastic modulus (rigidity) that has been meticulously measured and certified covers the bottom of each well
• In CytoSoft^® products, the gel surfaces are functionalized to create covalent bonds with protein amines
• The coating of the gel surfaces with matrix proteins and the plating of cells are made easier by the chemical functionalization’s stability and the lack of a catalyst needed for the reaction
• The silicone substrates used in CytoSoft^® products have a low level of auto-florescence and are optically clear
• Each dish’s silicone layer is firmly attached to the dish’s base
• Contrary to hydrogels (like polyacrylamide gels), which are prone to hydrolysis, silicone gels are resilient and resistant to tearing or cracking, and their elastic moduli (rigidities) remain almost unchanged over time
• They also do not dry out or swell

Applications

• Products made by CytoSoft^® allow for cell harvesting using collagenase and trypsin
• The substrate is not biochemically broken down while being treated with enzymes or afterward, and the sample taken from a CytoSoft^® plate contains no traces of the substrate

Source: Advanced BioMatrix