Cell culture inserts from BRAND are designed for manual and automated cell and tissue culture work. You will find innovative cell culture inserts like the BRAND Insert 2in1 used for skin model production, 3D epithelium cultures, chemotaxis analyses and more. Cell culture Insert systems offer a standard 24-well plate and a special 6-well model, each of them available with the surfaces pureGrade™ S (untreated, sterile) or cellGrade™ plus (hydrophilic cell culture).
Cell culture plates and inserts from BRAND for manual and automated cell and tissue culture work! The BRANDplates® Insert System, co-developed with the Fraunhofer Society, offers an innovative expansion of the existing cell culture product line at BRAND. It includes two different cell culture plates and two types of cell culture inserts, which can also be used in combination. The cell culture plates and the associated inserts are available in both a standard model and a special model. These can be used in a wide variety of applications. The standard model is used in such applications as co-culture, secretion studies, and chemotaxis tests, and the special model finds application in the automated in vitro preparation of human tissues (3-D tissue culture). Skin, epidermis, and corneal models, etc., have taken on greater importance due to legislation that restricts animal experimentation to a minimum. These tissues are now employed on a daily basis for tolerance studies, toxicity tests, and irritation tests in the pharmaceutical and cosmetics industries.
Plate types
For the Insert System BRAND offers a standard 24-well plate and a special 6-well model, each of them available with the surfaces pureGrade™ S (untreated, sterile) or cellGrade™ plus (hydrophilic cell culture). The plates are manufactured according to the requirements in ANSI/SLAS Standards 1 and 4. The plates are supplied with lids with condensation rings.
Standard 24-well plate:
The plate includes 24 individually fillable wells that can be fitted with strips of 4 inserts and/or individual inserts
Special 6-well model:
The 4 wells are all connected as one large, elongated well. This well can be fitted with a strip of 4 inserts so that all 4 of the inserts in the strip can be supplied with medium at the same ime. Particularly well suited to the use of insert strips with inlet channels.
Well and insert are perfectly coordinated:
The guide grooves in the support collars for the wells in the standard 24-well plate hold the guide ridges of the insert in position. This prevents the individual inserts from rotating - the feed ports on the wells remain open. At the same time, the guide ridges center the insert in the well.
Insert strips
Inserts smooth-walled:
For standard applications such as secretion studies, co-culture, chemotaxis tests, etc.
Inserts with inlet channels:
Inserts with special inlet channels (the Inlet Opening System) are used for the automated in vitro preparation of human tissues. The Inlet Opening System enables rapid, consistent changing of media, from submersion culture to air-lift culture. The special inlet channels enable adjustment of the medium level without damage to the skin model.
Insert specifications:
- Strip of 4 inserts, divisible into up to 4 individual inserts - positioned to hang in the well
- Distance from the well bottom to the insert membrane is 4 mm
- Individually packaged strips in deep-drawn cups or as a combination with 6 strips each inserted into the 6-well culture plate
- cellGrade™ plus (hydrophilic cell culture) surface
Frequently Asked Questions (Cell culture inserts)
What are the holes in the inserts for?
These holes are called inlet opening system (IOS). Due to the special geometry of the drillings, fluid will stay in the inserts as long as the outer wall is not wetted (during coatings). Once both sides are wetted, medium exchange can be performed simultaneously in wells and inserts. Furthermore, desired insert medium levels for air-lift cultures are easily and precisely established.
Is the size of growth area different for inserts of 13 mm and 9 mm height?
No. The size of the growth area of all insert is 59 mm2.
Are inserts with IOS leaky when loaded with medium (cell suspenion) the first time?
Inserts with IOS can be loaded with (water based) medium < 400 µl without the risk of leakage.
What's the advantage of inserts with a height of 9 mm?
Organotypic cultures consists of multiple cell layers. Therefore, number of cells per cm2 is higher and nutrient consumption is increased when compared to a monolayer culture. This is critical especially in air lift cultures where basolateral medium levels are reduced.
Inserts with a height of 9 mm allow more medium to be applied into the well of a compagnion plate thereby improving the nutrient supply of cells.
Do the BRANDplates® Inserts need to be coated before use?
This depends on the experiment and the celltype studied. The cellGradeTM plus surface can be further coated e.g. with laminin or collagen to meet special cellular conditions.
Are membranes of BRANDplates® Inserts stable in presence of DMSO?
PC-membranes can show an increase of pore size in presence of DMSO (100%). PC-membranes released from inserts and treated with DMSO will curl. In case of extended contact to DMSO [100%], PC-membranes still fused to inserts, start to curl as well.
Are membranes of BRANDplates® Inserts cellGradeTM plus treated on both sides?
Yes. The insert membrane is treated on the apical as well as basolateral side.
What is the hight of the insert?
BRAND offers inserts of two different heights - 13 mm and 9 mm.
How big is the growth area of an insert?
The growth area of an insert has a size of 59 mm2.
