Producing specialized media for specific primary cell types may be best outsourced to specialized manufacturers in order to obtain optimal results for this type of cell culture, more tricky than standard cell line handling. Cell Applications, a GMP certified experienced manufacturer of human and animal primary cells, has developed media carefully optimized for the characteristics and requirements unique to their cells. Their expertise in the domain ensures optimal culture performance with thoroughly QC tested products. This post focuses on their media optimized for smooth muscle cells, and is aimed at helping you choose among the various media formats and related reagents for a complete cell culture tool box.
Smooth muscle cells media: several formula to match your need
Basal Medium (310-500) is a medium which lacks growth supplements. It is usually selected to control timing & amount of supplements added in order to make complete Growth or Culture Medium. With a shelf life of 1 year, you may wish to select it if anticipating long storage periods between experiments.
Growth Medium (311-500): this all-in-one, ready-to-use medium contains pre-added growth supplements optimized to the unique needs of smooth muscle cells. It induces robust cell growth and proliferation. No mixing is needed and in many cases, it is the medium you will select for general cell growth. Its shelf life is typically 6 months.
Growth Medium Kit (311K-500) includes Basal medium & growth supplement sold together packaged separately. It allows you to control the timing and/or amount of supplements added, and to extend the media shelf life to 1 year. Growth Supplements (311-GS) can also be purchased separately for more flexibility.
Differentiation Medium (311D-250) is a medium formulated to change cells to a type that is more specialized in form & function. When used on brachiocephalic smooth muscle cells as an example, the cells remain in growth arrest and smooth muscle actin is expressed in 10 days.
Human Brachiocephalic Artery Smooth Muscle Cells: HBcASMC
Smooth muscle cell high efficiency transfection reagents
A ready-to-use smooth muscle cell transfection kit will save you the time and effort to test various transfection reagents and conditions to reach the best transfection efficiency with your smooth muscle cells. This full system (including transfection reagent and booster + cell specific transfection media), ensures high efficiency and low cell toxicity, while using a simple straightforward protocole.
Media + Primary Smooth Muscle cells: Ready-to-Use Matching sets
If you do not want to dedicate time and efforts in cell isolation (which requires some degree of expertise to obtain quality cells, to avoid contamination and control fibroblast overgrowth), Cell Applications have successfully isolated human muscle cells from different arteries. They all come as complete kits with their matching media (the media I have listed in the previous paragraph). They are all validated for smooth muscle specific α-actin positive, shipped at passage 3 and guaranteed for at least 12 doublings.
- Human Brachiocephalic Artery Smooth Muscle Cells
- Human Carotid artery smooth muscle cells
- Human Coronary artery smooth muscle cells kit
- Internal thoracic smooth muscle cells
- Subclavian artery smooth muscle cells
- Pulmonary artery smooth muscle cells
- Umbilical artery smooth muscle cells
Animal Smooth Muscle cells media
If you are working on animal models, you may have easier access to tissues for cell isolation. However, if you’d rather not spend time optimizing their culture conditions, having a source of already optimized media may be a better choice for you. Cell Application have optimized media for various animal smooth muscle cells such as Bovine artery cells (aortic, coronary, pulmonary and renal arteries); Canine, Porcine, Rat …. Custom preparations are also possible if you are working on other models.
I hope you have found some interest in the tools I presented in this post, whether you need smooth muscle cells media and related reagents, primary cells or the full sets. If you are looking for a specific cell type that you could not find in this post, feel free to contact me and I’ll do my best to find a source for you!
