EpiLife™ Extended-Lifespan medium is the only commercially available serum-free medium which is able to substantially extend the replicating lifespan of corneal epithelial cells.
The following tables provide details to allow you to select the epithelial cell culture products that are most appropriate to your needs. You can go directly to the topic of greatest interest by using the hyperlinks at the top of this page.
Contains essential and non-essential amino acids, vitamins, trace minerals, organic and inorganic salts.
Without antibiotics, antimycotics, hormones, growth factors, or proteins.
Formulated with 0.06 mM calcium chloride.
Required growth supplements are provided separately
Buffered with HEPES and sodium bicarbonate, equilibrates in 5% carbon dioxide to pH=7.4.
Sterile filtered
Endotoxin tested
Cell culture tested
This basal medium, when appropriately supplemented, will support the growth of human corneal epithelial cells.
All of the growth factors, hormones and extracts necessary for the growth of human corneal epithelial cells are provided separately. The basal medium may be supplemented with either Human Corneal Epithelial Cell Growth Supplement (C 0479) or Keratinocyte Medium Supplement, BPE-free (K 3136). K 3136 should be used when a chemically defined culture system is a requirement.
When fully supplemented, this proprietary cell culturing system can dramatically extend the life span of actively dividing human corneal epithelial cells. Corneal epithelial cells grown in the EpiLife™ culture systems will successfully complete from 5 to 20 doublings.
EpiLife™ is a trademark of Cascade Biologics, Inc., Portland, OR.
The serum free culture of corneal epithelial cells is supported by a series of products offered by Sigma. The table below provides a partial list of Sigma products recommended for this purpose.
This supplement is designed to be used in conjunction with, EpiLife™ Epithelial Cell Culture Medium (E 0151) for propagation of human corneal epithelial cells.
Since it contain BPE, it is not fully defined and hence, should be used only when this is not a concern.
When used with E 0151, the culture system can dramatically extend the life span of actively dividing human epithelial cells such as human corneal epithelial cells. Human corneal epithelial cells grown in the EpiLife™ culture systems will successfully complete from 5 to 20 doublings.
Contains recombinant growth factors, hydrocortisone, bovine serum albumin and bovine transferrin
Sterile filtered
Endotoxin tested
Cell culture tested.
This supplement is designed to be used in conjunction with, EpiLife™ Keratinocyte Medium (E 0151) for the growth of human corneal epithelial cells. Since it does not contain BPE, the culture system is chemically defined, and it should be used when a chemically defined cell culturing system is a requirement.
This supplement is a component of a unique proprietary cell culturing system that dramatically extends the life span of actively dividing human corneal epithelial cells. Human corneal epithelial cells grown in the EpiLife™ culture systems will successfully complete from 5 to 20 doublings.
Ready-to-use formula containing EpiLife™ medium, dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) and substituted methylcellulose
Sterile filtered
Endotoxin tested
Cell culture tested.
Useful for the cryopreservation of keratinocytes and other epithelial derived cell types.
The absence of animal-derived components in this medium reduces the potential for contamination of cryopreserved cells with adventitious biological agents such as viruses.
Use to inhibit the proteolytic action of Trypsin-EDTA (T 4299) after epithelial cells are released from a substrate or disaggregated.
Chemically defined and free of animal derived components. The absence of animal derived components reduces the potential for contamination of cryopreserved cells with adventitious biological agents such as viruses.
The following table provides a guide for selection of the appropriate components to grow corneal epithelial cells under expanded replicating lifespan conditions in both defined and undefined culture systems.
Sigma is proud to offer a selection of media, many of which are serum-free, for the in vitro culture of human primary cells, such as keratinocytes, corneal epithelial cells, endothelial cells, fibroblasts, melanocytes and epithelial hepatocytes. These primary cell types have potential commercial value in a wide range of emerging technologies and therapeutic applications. Among these are: tissue engineering applications, such as would healing and burn treatment; high throughput screening for drug toxicology and efficacy studies; gene therapy; pseudo-organs (e.g.. artificial liver) and as model cell systems for developing new therapeutic approaches to human diseases.
