Vitrolife F1 OMNI™

VitroPBS™

Transfer pipette and stem cell cutting tool

Vitrolife Growth Factors and Cytokines

Vitrolife F1 OMNI™

Q1. For how long is the Vitrolife F1 OMNI™ stable? How should I store it?

Vitrolife F1 OMNI™ is stable until the expiry date shown on the container labels and the LOT-specific Certificate of Analysis when stored as recommended. Store at +4ºC in the dark.

Q2. The day after I thawed my hESCs, cell attachment appeared to be sparse. Is this normal?
It is common to experience a low level of cell attachment the day after thawing hESCs and it will take some additionally days for colonies to be visible compared to a regular passage.

Q3. How should I store open bottles?

Vitrolife F1 OMNI™ media bottles should not be stored after opening. Discard excess media after completion of the procedure.

Q4. What cell types have been frozen in Vitrolife F1 OMNI™?

Human embryonic stem cells, human fibroblasts, human mesenchymal stem cells, and human chondrocytes.

Q5. For how long time should the cells be stored at -80ºC before being transferred to liquid nitrogen for long-term storage?

We recommend that you transfer the cells 4-24h after placing the cells in -80ºC.

Q6. At what concentration should I cryopreserve my cells?

We recommend that you freeze the cells at a density of 0,5M-1M per ml Vitrolife F1 OMNI™.

VitroPBS™

Q1. For how long is the VitroPBS™ stable? How should I store it?

Vitrolife F1 OMNI™ is stable until the expiry date shown on the container labels and the LOT-specific Certificate of Analysis when stored as recommended. Store at 4ºC in the dark.

Q2. Are there any other applications for VitroPBS™?

Yes, VitroPBS™ is often used to reconstitute growth factors since addition of an albumin source is not necessary.

Transfer pipette and stem cell cutting tool

Q1. How are there products normally used?

I normally start by sectioning the colonies with the stem cell cutting tool, sharp side positioned downward so that one cuts with the longest side of the oval opening. I first section all non-differentiated areas in one direction and then turn the culture dish 90 degrees and repeat the sectioning. Then I scrape off the colonies with the stem cell cutting tool (scrape with the longest side of the oval opening) so that the colony pieces float around freely in the dish. I thereafter take the transfer pipette (that has a blunter opening) and transfer the colonies to new dishes when passaging or vitrifying using VitroPBS™ if cryopreservation is the aim.

Vitrolife Growth Factors and Cytokines

Q1. What is the origin of your Growth Factors and Cytokines?

Vitrolife's growth factors and cytokines are produced in the barley seed endosperm.

Q2. You say that your Growth Factors and Cytokines are xeno-free, what do you mean?

Due to the unique qualities of the production system, our Vitrolife growth factors and cytokines do not contain any animal derived substances, no serum carryover and no other contaminating molecules like endogenous growth factors, cytokines, chemokines etc.

Q3. Is the biological activity of ISOkine™ growth factors and cytokines comparable to those produced in E. coli or other traditional production system?

Yes. Each batch of Vitrolife growth factors and cytokines is tested for biological activity by independent third party companies or laboratories. This information is provided in a data sheet for each batch of every product. The biological activity is typically comparable or better than of other growth factors and cytokines on the market.

Q4. What are the advantages of Vitrolife GF products compared to other commercially available growth factors and cytokines?

Vitrolife growth factors and cytokines are biorisk-free since they are produced in the endosperm of barley seeds. They are animal and serum-free, void of antibiotics, endotoxin-free, pyrogenic and pro-inflammatory-free, void of bacteria, viruses and prions and are eukaryotic folded and glycosylated. Their production is environmentally friendly and CO2 neutral, as renewable, geothermal energy is used in their production. Furthermore, the biological activity typically is comparable or better than of other growth factors and cytokines on the market.

Q5. Are Vitrolife growth factors glycosylated?

Plants are eukaryotes, and important characteristics in the basic structure of glycosylation are therefore similar in barley derived ISOkine™ growth factors and cytokines and in human glycosylated proteins.

Q6. Does plant glycosylation affect the biological performance in cell culture?

We have not observed any negative effects of plant glycosylation in cell culture in our numerous biological assays. Glycolysation is known to occasionally improve stability of growth factors and possibly shield them from proteolytic activity in the environment. Furthermore, plant glycosylation seems to reduce the risk of aggregation of the growth factor, when compared to non-glycosylated bacterially produced growth factors.

Q7. What is biorisk-free?

Our Vitrlife growth factors and cytokines are biorisk-free as they are produced in the barley endosperm. They are therefore animal-free, void of antibiotics, endotoxin-free, pyrogenic and pro-inflammatory-free, void of bacteria, viruses and prions and are eukaryotic folded and glycosylated.

Q8. Can your biorisk-free products replace GMP products?

Our Vitrolife growth factors and cytokines are currently not cGMP-validated. We are however in the process of establishing a GMP compliant production facility to produce biorisk-free cGMP growth factors and cytokines in the near future. The biorisk-free products nevertheless represent a significant improvement in safety over products produced using traditional production platforms.

Q9. Can your products be used for therapeutics or clinical testing?

Our Vitrolife growth factors and cyotokine products can only be used for research purposes. We will however offer cGMP compliant growth factors in the near future available clinical testing.

Q10. Do Vitrolife growth factors expose the threat of contamination with bacteria, virus or prions?

Our Vitrolife growth factors are produced in barley and purified in our private laboratories where we only process barley derived proteins. Therefore, we can exclude any contact of our products with bacteria, virus or prion derived contaminants.

Q11. For how long are the Vitrolife growth factors stable? How should I store the proteins?

The lyophilized protein is stable at room temperature for several weeks. However, we recommend for it to be stored it at -20°C. Reconstituted proteins should be used immediately or stored in working aliquots at -20°C. Avoid repeat freeze-thaw cycles. If properly stored, ISOkine™ growth factors are stable for at least 2 years from product release.

Q12. Do you sell in larger quantities than is posted on your website?

Yes, ISOkine™ are sold in larger quantities depending on customers' requests. For inquiries concerning larger size/ bulk orders please contact celltherapy@vitrolife.com

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