product photo of CELLstart Humanized Substrate for Stem Cell Culture box and vial

CELLstart Substrate is a xeno-free substrate for attachment and expansion of human embryonic, mesenchymal, and neural stem cells.

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CELLstart substrate key features

  • Fully defined, xeno-free substrate composed only of human-derived components, eliminating animal-origin materials.
  • Manufactured under cGMP standards to help ensure consistency, traceability, and reproducibility between lots.
  • Supports attachment and expansion of human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) and human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs) in serum- and feeder-free media systems.
  • Compatible with mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs), neural stem cells (NSCs), and even human feeder cells, offering versatility across stem cell types.
  • Enables maintenance of pluripotency/multipotency, undifferentiated morphology, and differentiation potential in stem cells cultured on the substrate.
  • Coating procedure is straightforward and works with standard culture vessels, supporting transition from feeder-based to defined xeno-free formats with minimal adaptation.


Attachment and growth of hESCs on CELLstart substrate

hESC lines (BG01V, H9 and RCM1) grown on CELLstart xeno-free substrate in serum- and feeder-free hESC medium exhibit normal morphology(Figure 1), retain pluripotency, and maintain pluripotent differentiation capabilities to all three germ layers.

Phase contrast images of BG01V, H9 and RCM1 cells grown on CELLstart xeno-free substrate in serum- and feeder-free hESC medium
Figure 1. hESCs grown on CELLstart-coated dishes in StemPro hESC SFM exhibit normal morphology. (A) Phase contrast image (4X) of BG01V cells (passage 13). (B) Phase contrast image (10X) of H9 cells (passage 60). Data provided by E. Seftor, Children’s Memorial Research Center, Chicago, IL. (C) Phase contrast image (10X) of RCM1 cells (passage 28). Data provided by B. Tye, Roslin Cells Ltd.


Attachment and growth of hMSCs on CELLstart substrate

hMSCs grown on CELLstart in STEMPRO MSC SFM exhibit superior growth compared to expansion in classical medium (DMEM + 10% MSC-Qualified FBS) and maintain tri-lineage mesoderm differentiation potential beyond passage 5 (Figure 2).

Figure 2. hMSCs grown on CELLstart-coated dishes in StemPro MSC SFM retain tri-lineage differentiation potential through long-term passaging. hMSCs (passage 5) were seeded into adipogenic, chondrogenic, or osteogenic differentiation medium for 14 days, revealing adipocytes (oil red O lipid stain), chondrocytes (alcian blue glycosaminoglycan stain) and osteoblasts (alkaline phosphatase cell surface glycoprotein stain).


Attachment and growth of hNSCs on CELLstart substrate

hNSCs grown on CELLstart xeno-free substrate in serum-free medium exhibit normal morphology while maintaining multipotency of these cells (Figure 3).

Phase contrast and fluorescent images of hNSCs grown on CELLstart xeno-free substrate in serum-free medium expressing hNSC markers, Nestin and Sox2

Figure 3. hNSCs grown on CELLstart-coated dishes in serum-free medium exhibit normal morphology and express hNSC markers. (A)Phase contrast image (10x) of hNSCs (passage 27). (B)Immunofluorescence analysis of hNSC (passage 23) shows Nestin expression and (C)Sox2 expression.

Resources
    Related pages
    Publications
    1. Swistowski A, Peng J, Han Y, et al. (2009) Xeno-free defined conditions for culture of human embryonic stem cells, neural stem cells and dopaminergic neurons derived from them. PLoS One 4(7):e6233. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0006233
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    For Research Use Only. Not for use in diagnostic procedures.