Skip to Content
Merck

PromoCell® Human
Primary Cells

Physiologically relevant primary cells

Scientist performing cell culture at the tissue culture hood. Scientist pipetting red media into a culture plate.

With the explosion in cell culture experiments, biomedical researchers look to more relevant and meaningful cell models. Unlike immortalized cell lines, primary cells are directly derived from living tissue and thus closely replicate the biological tissues from which they originate. Primary cells are increasingly useful in various cellular applications, such as life science research, pharmaceutical development, and ADME/toxicity studies

Our partnership with PromoCell® includes an authenticated portfolio of primary cells, advanced media formulations, and extensive protocols and technical notes. PromoCell® primary cells are fully characterized to meet study-specific donor criteria including age, sex, race, health status, BMI range, and smoking status. Our portfolio includes flexible cell lot and can accommodate donor reservations. It is possible to make a request for specific primary cells from PromoCell®. These cells are guaranteed to have purity, sterility, and robust growth rates, making them suitable for a wide range of applications.

How do you choose the best cells for your process?

  1. What primary cells do you need?
  2. How do you cultivate these cells?
  3. What media do you need?
  4. Does your project require specific primary cells?

Explore our comprehensive primary cell portfolio and discover our ethically-sourced primary and stem cells, precisely-formulated culture media, and validated protocols.

Discover PromoCell® Primary Cells

Human Primary Cells

In vitro VEGF stimulated cell migration of endothelial cells

Human primary cells help researchers create a cellular environment that closely replicate the in vivo biological environment and model human disease. Primary cells can also be more relevant for cellular applications where immortalized cell lines could complicate the results.

We offer the technical material that you need to understand how to prepare, store, and cultivate your primary human cells. Our extensive human primary cell portfolio includes a wide range of tissue and cell types and protocols for any culture application. Explore our human primary cell protocols and technical information to support your primary cell culture project.

Find more information on PromoCell® human primary cell types and protocols.

Overview of mesenchymal stem cell differentiation to myocytes, adipocytes, osteoblasts, neurons, and chondrocytes

Human stem and blood cells have hundreds of different research and biomedical applications, from infectious disease and drug discovery to immunology and cardiovascular studies. Our portfolio includes a comprehensive collection of stem and blood cells. These cells are ideal for cellular experiments or as a starting cell for differentiation and the isolation of multiple cell subpopulations, including hematopoietic and endothelial progenitors, lymphocyte, and monocyte subpopulations.

We offer a variety of informative technical articles and step-by-step protocols to help you discover the best ways to cultivate, differentiate, and expand your cells.

Find more information on PromoCell® human blood and stem cell types and protocols.

Tumorsphere culture of breast cancer cells MCF-7

Cancer research is a major focus of biomedical fields today, with thousands of new publications produced every year. By culturing cancer cell lines and tumor spheroid lines, researchers can closely replicate the tumor environment in their studies. Researchers can also target the root of cancer - the cancer stem cell subpopulation within a tumor. Cancer stem cells have been identified in several different cancers, including both solid tumor and hematopoietic cancers.

With our comprehensive portfolio of cancer cell lines, researchers can easily isolate, culture, and monitor primary cancer cells and tumor spheroids.

Brightfield image of HT1080 fibrosarcoma cells cultured in PromoCell® Cancer Cell Line Medium XF

An important step in the cell culture workflow is choosing the ideal media for your project. Media selection can significantly impact cell growth and project outcomes; the media you use will depend on the cell of interest and application. Different primary cell lines can have specific growth or differentiation requirements. Specific media formulations are important to support primary cell growth in vitro.

Through our partnership with PromoCell®, we offer validated and specially formulated tissue culture media to aid in cultivating, passaging, and storing your cells.

Mononuclear cells (MNC) represent the enriched lymphocyte and monocyte fraction of whole blood; they are isolated from umbilical cord blood and adult peripheral blood of healthy donors. MNCs from adult peripheral blood (hMNC-PB) contain a high proportion of mature immune cells.

Our ultrapure MNCs do not clump when thawed and exhibit superior viability and biological function. MNCs are cryopreserved immediately after isolation using proprietary serum-free freezing medium. Each cryovial contains at least 25 million viable cells after thawing.

  • Lots are routinely characterized by flow cytometry for viability and a series of cellular characteristics including cell size and granularity.
  • Cells are tested for the absence of HIV-1, HIV-2, HBV, HCV, HTLV-1, HTLV-2 and microbial contaminants (fungi, bacteria, and mycoplasma).

Our Mononuclear Cell Medium is a highly nutritive short-term maintenance medium, which provides optimal cell viability for MNCs from umbilical cord blood, adult peripheral blood, and other sources such as bone marrow. The MNC Medium consists of a bottle of Basal Medium and one vial of SupplementMix. Combining the SupplementMix with the Basal Medium constitutes the complete Medium.

PromoCell® MNC Medium contains all the growth factors and supplements necessary for optimal short-term maintenance of mononuclear cells, does not contain antibiotics or antimycotics, and is formulated for use in an incubator with an atmosphere of 5% CO2.

 PromoCell® Cancer Cell Media

PromoCell® cancer cell media helps researchers support cancer stem cells independent of their origin type, enabling long-term cultivation and multiple passages of cancer stem cells. Our collection of primary cancer cell media includes 3D Tumorsphere Medium XF, Primary Cancer Cell Culture System, and Cancer Cell Line Medium XF. Researchers can use these media to develop their own primary cancer cell lines, form homogeneous tumorspheres and complex cancer models, and build their own patient-derived cell line. Learn more about our portfolio of primary cancer cell media and cultivate healthy cancer stem cells.

Experimental Applications:

  • Develop primary cancer cell lines that fit any specific experimental design and cell subtype.
  • Form and maintain functional tumorspheres from established cell lines, biopsies, and non-cancerous cells.
  • Build and verify robust organoid and other 3D cancerous tumor models.
  • Select cancer stem cells and establish primary cell cultures from patient-derived biopsies.
  • Co-culture organoids with effector immune cells to build more complex 3D tumor models.

Related Content

Page 1 of 2
Products
Loading

 

Discover our full collection of PromoCell® cell lines.

Related Applications
Cell-Based Assays
Cellular assays, or cell-based assays, are essential tools for measuring cell health, viability, proliferation, migration, invasion, chemotaxis, apoptosis, angiogenesis, oxidative stress, cell signaling and live cell analysis.
Mammalian Cell Culture
Applications, principles, and methods for in vitro mammalian cell culture including links to articles, protocols, and videos for proper aseptic technique, passaging and subculturing, and culture media considerations.
Primary Cell Culture Techniques
Cultivate mammalian primary cells for ADME/Tox screening, maintaining physiological relevance for accurate results.
Stem Cell Culture
An overview of different stem cell types, stem cell culture basics and stem cell applications in basic research and clinical research applications, such as tissue regeneration, genetic diseases and cancer.
3D Cell Culture
Explore scaffold and scaffold-free methods for three-dimensional (3D) cell culture, including organoids and spheroids.
Cell Culture Media Preparation
Culture media preparation for in vitro cell cultivation including preparation of different media formats, sterilization methods, cell growth and regulation supplements, media storage and use.
Cell Growth & Maintenance
A synopsis of the conditions, media, nutrients, cultureware, and environments required for successful propagation of mammalian and yeast cells. Nutrient reagents, sterile technique and filtration, and requirements for 2D, 3D, and suspension cultures are described.
Cell Culture Troubleshooting
Expert tips for correcting common problems with cell culture including bacterial and fungal contamination, debris in culture media, cell detachment or clumping, slow growth, and low viability.
Sign In To Continue

To continue reading please sign in or create an account.

Don't Have An Account?