Frequently Asked Questions.
Everything you need to know.
Find our answers for your question here.
Yes, more coatings are available in the form of custom-made plates. Get in touch with us to find out all the possibilities on offer.
beadMATRIX are sterile, polystyrene-based microcarriers aseptically coated with a biomatrix. beadMATRIX microcarriers do not need further sterilization procedures. In order to maintain its high performance and beneficial effects on cell attachment and proliferation it is generally not recommended to steam sterilize beadMATRIX.
It is generally recommended to use unopened myMATRIX iPSC cultureware for new experiments. However, if not all wells of the cell culture plate are used, fill unused wells with a basal medium (e.g., DMEM/F12, Advanced DMEM) and leave the medium until use.
It is generally recommended to use unopened myMATRIX MSC cultureware for new experiments. Sterility and stability of the myMATRIX MSC cannot be guaranteed otherwise.
Can I use denovoMATRIX cultureware for cell-based assays and/or colorimetric/fluorescence staining?
Yes, the denovoMATRIX cultureware is compatible with most colorimetric and fluorescent stains as well as a variety of cell-based assays. In case a staining has not worked for you as expected, please get in touch with us here. We would love to get your feedback.
The denovoMATRIX surface coating is ready-to-use from the packaging. No pre-incubation or washing steps are necessary.
The myMATRIX iPSC is chemically defined and free of any human or animal components. Hence, it enables the expansion of hiPSC in xeno-free culture conditions using commercially available xeno-free media.
Yes, myMATRIX iPSC supports long-term expansion of hiPSC for up to 20 passages (over 100 days). Please refer to our application note for detailed information.
The myMATRIX MSC is chemically defined and free of any human or animal components. Hence, it enables the expansion of hMSC in xeno-free culture conditions using commercially available xeno-free media. Please refer to our growing list of chemically defined or xeno-free media, which are compatible with myMATRIX MSC.
Yes, myMATRIX MSC supports long-term expansion of MSC for up to 10 passages (50 – 60 days). Please refer to our Application note and peer-reviewed publication for detailed information.
The coating is based on the proprietary technology of denovoMATRIX. It is a mixture of a sulfated polysaccharide and a biomimetic peptide conjugate, which mimics functional features of the cellular microenvironment.
At confluency, hiPSC cultured on myMATRIX iPSC show a classic iPSC morphology characterized by round, compact and well-defined colonies in which the cells exhibit a high nuclear-to-cytoplasmic ratio, prominent nucleoli and scant cytoplasm. However, the morphology can vary depending on the medium used. Please refer to our User Guide for detailed information.
hMSC cultured on myMATRIX MSC will have a fibroblast-like, spindle-shaped morphology. In serum-containing conditions, hMSC will show a flattened and spread cell shape. In serum-free or xeno-free media, the cells will be smaller and more compact while maintaining the spindle shape. myMATRIX MSC supports attachment, proliferation and high cell viability in both serum-free and serum-containing conditions.
Each lot of the screenMATRIX is routinely quality controlled for the ability to provide attachment to two cell types: human mesenchymal stromal cells and primary mouse neural progenitors.
Generally, we aim to provide your custom order in 3-4 weeks. Lead and delivery times may vary depending on customized orders. Please get in touch with us for detailed questions on lead time for customMATRIX products.
We recommend a minimum of 3 technical with at least one experimental repeat. The total number of replicates necessary may vary based on cell type or the sensitivity of your assay. To enable your research and ensure appropriate sample sizes each pack of screenMATRIX contains 5 plates .
The beadMATRIX is stable for one year when stored in dry conditions at room temperature.
The denovoMATRIX cultureware should be stored in its original aluminum foil-based packaging at room temperature in laboratory conditions (18 – 28 °C). Under these conditions, it has a shelf life of 12 months.
To achieve a high-quality cell culture, conduct an initial experiment to determine the time for attachment of cells to the microcarriers, the tendency of cells to clump, and the feeding regime. Optimization of these conditions will subsequently result in your ideal cell culture procedure.
The denovoMATRIX cultureware is protected from UV light due to the aluminum foil-based packaging. It is not recommended to expose the denovoMATRIX cultureware to UV light for a longer time period.
Before use, wash the beadMATRIX once with PBS and once with the pre-warmed medium. Discard the supernatant, add the required amount of medium and cells, and start the inoculation phase.
In contrast to other surface coatings, myMATRIX MSC is a biomimetic product, which has been specifically designed to support the expansion of human mesenchymal stromal cells (hMSC). Please refer to our list of reagents and cells, which have been successfully cultured on myMATRIX MSC. Although myMATRIX MSC has been tailored for hMSC, it may also support the attachment and proliferation of other adherent cell types.
Our screenMATRIX would be an excellent tool to identify functional coatings for your cells of choice. If intend to isolate MSC from tissue or you have further questions, please contact us.
The optimal concentration must be adjusted for each cell culture vessel or culture system. As a starting point for microcarrier-based MSC cultures with beadMATRIX, we generally recommend a microcarrier concentration between 1-20 g/L.
You need to determine the optimal microcarrier concentration and stirring speed depending on your cell type and vessel type/bioreactor system. If you use agitation, we recommend starting with a minimum agitation speed that equally distributes microcarrier and cells in the medium and increasing the speed whenever necessary.
Extracellular matrix proteins are commonly used to recreate important aspects of the cellular microenvironment. However, protein-based coatings are unstable and can show compositional inconsistencies between lots. They also require pre-coating steps before each use, which can result in coating variations due to different user handling.
denovoMATRIX coatings are chemically defined with high batch consistency. They are long-term stable and are delivered ready-to-use in standard cell cultureware formats.
Mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) are routinely harvested using detachment reagents such as trypsin-EDTA, TypLE Express Enzym, TrypZean, or collagenase. Detachment reagent concentration and detachment time must be carefully optimized for each culture system to enable maximum recovery of cells while preserving high cell quality. A combination of different detachment reagents and the integration of hydrodynamic forces can facilitate the detachment of the cells from each other as well as from the microcarrier. Note, if cells are growing confluent on the microcarrier it might take longer to detach them, which ultimately could affect their quality.
A seeding density of 3.000-8.000 cells/cm² is recommended. The cells should be sub-cultured upon reaching 80-90% confluence. Optimal seeding densities can vary based on donor, tissue source and medium used, and hence should be finally optimized by the user.
myMATRIX iPSC supports clump-splitting as well as single-cell splitting routines, with and without supplements like Rho-associated, coiled-coil containing protein kinase (ROCK) inhibitor.
myMATRIX iPSC supports high- and low splitting ratios. We generally recommend to split hiPSC at a ratio of 1:20-1:40 or at 10-20.000 cells/cm².
The optimal seeding density can vary greatly depending on the individual cells/tissue source. We recommend starting with the seeding density you are using in 2D monolayer culture and optimizing therefrom.
Catalog and Lot numbers are printed on the label of denovoMATRIX cultureware. Both numbers are also provided with the quality certificate sheet.
myMATRIX MSC supports the use of a variety of cell detachment solutions including Dispase, Trypsin, trypsin/EDTA, TrypLE, and Accutase. For use with hMSC, we recommend using 0.5% Trypsin/EDTA or TrypLE Express Enzyme, and keeping incubation times below 5 minutes to minimize cell stress.
Optimal inoculation conditions must be identified separately for each cell type, vessel type/bioreactor system, and microcarrier concentration. Three different regimes have been successfully used depending on the bioreactor system of your choice: static attachment, intermittent agitation, and continuous agitation during the first 12-24 h. To maximize seeding efficiency and allow even cell distribution we advise reducing the initial working volume to achieve a high cell-to-beadMATRIX ratio during the inoculation phase. After the inoculation phase, the working volume can then be increased.