Ethan Clarke
Tissue culture-treated plastic is a surface that has been treated to allow cell adhesion and growth. This process involves exposing a polystyrene microplate to a plasma gas, which modifies the hydrophobic plastic surface to make it hydrophilic. This treatment increases cell attachment and growth, making it ideal for cell cultures. Tissue culture-treated plates are inexpensive, disposable, and widely used in cell culture applications, providing a suitable environment for the growth and study of cells.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Used for | Cell culture and cell-based assays |
| Plastic types used | Polyethylene terephthalate (PET), high- and low-density polyethylene (PE), polyvinyl chloride (PVC), polypropylene (PP), polystyrene (PS) |
| Properties of PS | Hydrophobic in pure form, low cost, inert chemistry |
| Treatment process | Exposing PS surface to plasma gas to modify the surface and make it more hydrophilic |
| Surface charge | Net negative charge due to oxygen-containing functional groups |
| Cell attachment | Increased cell attachment due to negative charges of the cell membrane |
| Coating options | Peptides (e.g., poly-D-lysine or PDL), proteins (e.g., collagen), polysaccharides |
| Cell culture dishes | Disposable shallow containers designed to support cell growth and propagation |
| Cell culture flasks | Available in various sizes with straight or angled necks, untreated, TC-treated, or treated with other materials |
| Tissue culture plastic vessels | Plasma-treated flasks, plates, and wells |
| Benefits of plasma treatment | Improved surface wetting, enhanced quality of biomimetic coatings, increased cell adhesion |
| Cell and tissue culture plates | Provide optimal, uniform, and compatible surface support for animal cell attachment and growth |
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What You'll Learn
Tissue culture treatment process
Tissue culture is the growth of tissues or cells in an artificial medium separate from the parent organism. This technique is also called micropropagation. Tissue culture commonly refers to the culture of animal cells and tissues, with the term "plant tissue culture" being used specifically for plants.
The tissue culture treatment process involves exposing a polystyrene microplate to a plasma gas. This process modifies the hydrophobic plastic surface to make it more hydrophilic. The resulting surface carries a net negative charge due to the presence of oxygen-containing functional groups such as hydroxyl and carboxyl. This generally leads to increased cell attachment.
The low cost of polystyrene, coupled with its inert chemistry, makes it an optimal choice for a disposable culture surface. In its pure form, polystyrene is hydrophobic, which is ideal for suspension cell culture. However, most cells derived from vertebrates are anchorage-dependent and must be cultured on a surface that is specifically treated to allow cell adhesion and spreading, known as a tissue culture (TC) or cell culture-treated surface.
The properties of polystyrene surfaces can be further optimized by coating the surface with peptides (e.g., poly-D-lysine or PDL), proteins (e.g., collagen), or polysaccharides. PDL is a chemically synthesized, polycationic extracellular matrix (ECM) that can help mediate the negative charges of both the cell membrane and surface, thereby facilitating cell adhesion to TC-treated plastic. ECM proteins such as collagen provide an attachment framework for the adhesion and growth of certain cell types that have difficulties growing on regular TC-treated surfaces.
Cell culture dishes are disposable shallow containers specifically designed to support the growth and propagation of cells in culture. These dishes are often supplied with lids that provide consistent gas exchange while offering protection from the environment.
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Tissue culture plastic vessels
Tissue culture-treated plastic is used to culture cells that are anchorage-dependent and require a surface to which they can adhere and spread. Most commercially available tissue culture plastic vessels are plasma-treated polystyrene, which is inexpensive, disposable, and transparent. Polystyrene is hydrophobic, which is ideal for suspension cell cultures, but most cells derived from vertebrates are anchorage-dependent and require a treated surface to allow cell adhesion and spreading.
The tissue culture treatment process involves exposing a polystyrene surface to a plasma gas, which modifies the surface to make it more hydrophilic. This treatment process increases the surface's hydrophilicity and results in a net negative charge due to the presence of oxygen-containing functional groups such as hydroxyl and carboxyl. This treatment leads to increased cell attachment.
For example, cell culture dishes are disposable shallow containers specifically designed to support the growth and propagation of cells in culture. They are often used when individual colonies need to be selected from a transfected cell population. Cell culture flasks come in different sizes and neck shapes (straight or angled). Angled necks offer advantages such as easier access to the entire growth surface and help prevent media from reaching the cap.
Square culture vessels are designed for optimal space utilization, with a transparent construction for easy monitoring and compatibility with various cell culture techniques. Magenta™ tissue culture vessels are specifically designed for plant tissue culture, ensuring the right environment for plant tissue growth.
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Cell attachment and growth
Tissue culture-treated plastic is used to culture cells and is particularly important for the growth of cells derived from vertebrates. The most common plastic used in labs for this purpose is polystyrene. In its pure form, polystyrene is hydrophobic, which is ideal for suspension cell cultures. However, most cells derived from vertebrates are anchorage-dependent, meaning they require a surface that has been treated to allow cell adhesion and spreading.
To create tissue culture-treated plastic, polystyrene is exposed to plasma gas, which modifies the surface chemistry of the plastic, making it more hydrophilic. This process also leaves a net negative charge on the surface, which further encourages cell attachment. This treatment process is known as tissue culture (TC) treatment.
The TC treatment process can be enhanced by coating the surface with peptides, proteins, or polysaccharides. For example, poly-D-lysine (PDL) is a chemically synthesized, polycationic extracellular matrix (ECM) that can help mediate the negative charges of both the cell membrane and surface, facilitating cell adhesion. Similarly, ECM proteins such as collagen provide an attachment framework for the adhesion and growth of certain cell types that struggle to grow on regular TC-treated surfaces.
Tissue culture-treated plates offer an optimal surface for animal cell attachment and growth. These plates are inexpensive, disposable, and widely used due to their biological affinity. They are a valuable tool in molecular and cellular biology, providing an excellent model system for studying cell behaviour.
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Surface coating options
Tissue culture-treated plastic, also known as polystyrene (PS) or tissue culture plastic (TCP), is the most commonly used material for cell culture. This is due to its low cost, inert chemistry, and biological affinity with mammalian cells.
Mammalian cells are anchorage-dependent, meaning they rely on connections with other cells, the extracellular matrix (ECM), and/or material substrates to function properly. To create a suitable environment for these cells, tissue culture-treated plastic undergoes a process where it is exposed to plasma gas, which modifies its hydrophobic surface to make it more hydrophilic and improves cell attachment.
The surface of tissue culture-treated plastic can be further optimized with various coatings to enhance cell adhesion and growth. Here are some common coating options:
- Peptides: Poly-D-lysine (PDL) is a synthetic polymer that can mediate the negative charges of both the cell membrane and the plastic surface, facilitating cell adhesion. Poly-L-lysine (PLL) is another option that can be used to coat well plates to improve cell adhesion, especially for cell lines that do not adhere well.
- Proteins: Extracellular matrix (ECM) proteins, such as collagen, provide an attachment framework for certain cell types that have difficulties growing on regular TC-treated surfaces. Collagen I is suitable for endothelial and epithelial cells, muscle cells, and hepatocytes. Collagen type IV is a major constituent of basement membranes and offers more physiologically relevant conditions for cells.
- Polysaccharides: These can be used to coat the surface and improve cell adhesion.
- Polyethyleneimine (PEI): This cationic polymer can be used to coat glass fiber filters and plates to minimize non-specific binding, particularly in ligand-binding assays. However, it may cause problems in certain applications by promoting non-specific binding due to the creation of a positively-charged surface.
The choice of coating depends on the specific cell types being cultured and the research focus and requirements. While coating is not necessary for all cell lines, it is beneficial or even essential for certain pretentious cell lines and primary cells to mimic the natural tissue environment and improve the accuracy of results.
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Cell culture dishes
Tissue culture-treated plastic (also known as polystyrene) is the most widely used material for cell culture. This is due to its low cost, inert chemistry, and suitability for suspension cell culture in its pure form. However, as most vertebrate cells are anchorage-dependent, tissue culture-treated plastic is used to allow for cell adhesion and spreading. This treatment process involves exposing polystyrene to plasma gas, which modifies the surface chemistry to make it more hydrophilic.
The size of cell culture dishes can vary, with a common size being 35 mm, which is convenient for imaging. The dishes may also have lids that allow for gas exchange while protecting the culture from the environment. The flat, optically clear polystyrene surface of the dishes enables distortion-free microscopic visualization of cells.
Overall, cell culture dishes are an important tool for researchers, providing a controlled environment for the growth and study of cells.
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Frequently asked questions
Tissue culture plastic, also known as polystyrene, is a material used for cell culture and cell-based assays. It is inexpensive, disposable, and transparent, making it ideal for studying cells in a laboratory setting.
Tissue culture treatment is necessary to modify the surface of polystyrene plastic, making it more suitable for cell attachment and growth. Untreated polystyrene surfaces are hydrophobic and do not allow cells to attach properly due to their surface chemistry.
Tissue culture treatment involves exposing polystyrene to a plasma gas, which modifies the surface to make it more hydrophilic. This process increases the water contact angle and enhances surface wetting, improving the quality of biomimetic coatings and facilitating cell adhesion.
