InSphero Launches Enhanced Ultra-low Attachment Plate
for Scaffold-free 3D Cell Culture
Schlieren, Switzerland, May 7, 2015 – GravityTRAPâ„¢ ULA Plate design simplifies medium exchange and improves imaging during spheroid production and culture. Â
InSphero AG, the leading provider of scaffold-free 3D microtissues, cell culture technology, and 3D-focused contract research testing, announced today the release of their new GravityTRAPâ„¢ Ultra-low Attachment (ULA) Plate. The automation-compatible 96-well ULA format expands InSphero's portfolio of tissue culture platforms for scaffold-free 3D cell culture, offering a low-cost, enhanced ULA plate ideal for the production of 3D tumor microtissues derived from tumor cell lines, or to screen for the propensity of cells to form spheroids in a low-attachment environment.
The GravityTRAPâ„¢ ULA Plate includes wells specially coated to prevent attachment and monolayer growth of cells, and provides significant advantages over existing ultra-low attachment spheroid plates, including simplified medium exchange and improved imaging. Each well incorporates a SureExchangeâ„¢ tapered ledge design that simplifies the process of changing growth medium during long-term culture or compound dosing and protects spheroids from disruption or accidental aspiration. The narrow (1 mm diameter) growth chamber in each well features a flat bottom, eliminating focal distortion that can
complicate imaging in round-bottom ULA plates. The narrow chamber provides the necessary concentration of cells required to promote formation of a single microtissue per well, while making it easier to locate and image even small (<100 μm diameter) spheroids.
Users of InSphero's GravityPLUS™ hanging drop system will likely be familiar with the GravityTRAP™ ULA Plate, as it already serves as the long-term culture and assay plate provided with the patented hanging drop system. Dr. Simon Messner, Product Manager at InSphero, notes offering the GravityTRAP™ ULA Plate as a stand-alone platform offers a cost-effective option for researchers looking to move their cell culture into 3D, or who may currently be experiencing the limitations of existing ultra-low attachment plates. "We recommend the GravityTRAP™ ULA Plate as a first-line option for testing or confirming the spheroid-forming capacity of cells, particularly tumor cell lines, as they may not require the improved oxygenation and complete elimination of cell-surface interaction afforded by the hanging drop technique to form spheroids. The GravityPLUS™ system is still the platform of choice for production of more complex 3D microtissues, such as those derived from patient- or animal-derived (primary) cells or multi-cell type co-culture models."
InSphero CEO and co-founder Dr. Jan Lichtenberg states the benefits of the new platform extend beyond its design features. "With the GravityTRAPâ„¢ ULA Plate and GravityPLUSâ„¢ system, researchers have not only two reliable scaffold-free platforms, but also the confidence of purchasing their technology from a company with extensive 3D cell culture experience and know-how. This includes specially formulated growth medium to promote spheroid formation or long-term culture maintenance, 3D-optimized protocols to help extract the most data, and custom model development and compound screening through our 3D InSightâ„¢ Services."
