The standard for neuronal cell culture
More than 25 years ago, the first commercially available, serum-free supplement for neural cell culture, Gibco B-27 Supplement (50X) was developed and with Gibco Neurobasal Medium has set the standard in neuronal cell culture reagents. Originally designed for culturing primary neurons, the classic B-27 Supplement and nutritive variants have been widely adapted and successfully used in many other applications and cell types, including growth and maintenance of neural stem cells and PSC-derived neurons, 3D cell culture and disease modeling.
The most-referenced neuronal cell culture supplement just got better
To further meet the growing needs of researchers, an optimized formulation of the classic B-27 Supplement was developed in 2018 for improved long-term neuronal survival, functionality and maturation of primary rodent neurons and stem cell-derived neurons. See below section: Superior survival, maturation, and neural network activity and learn more about B-27 Plus Neuronal Culture System.
The history behind the B-27 media system
Superior survival, maturation, and neural network activity
Maintaining healthy long-term cultures (3 weeks and beyond) of primary rodent neurons can be challenging, as these cells are quite sensitive and tend to undergo progressive cell death during culture.
Make the switch to the next-generation B-27 Supplement
The desire for more reliable and biologically relevant models has increased, so too has the necessity for a next-generation media system that can maintain and mature optimal densities of functional neurons over longer periods of time in vitro.
The next-generation Gibco B-27 Plus Neuronal Culture System, composed of B-27 Plus Supplement and Neurobasal Plus Medium, improves upon the classic culture environment through raw material and manufacturing upgrades and minor formulation modifications. Together, these small changes yield big results in the maintenance and maturation of primary neurons to offer the following improved benefits:
- Increased neuronal survival by more than 50% vs competitors
- Improved neurite outgrowth
- Improved electrophysiological activity and maturation
Advancing 3D neural cell culture
Complex 3D models are becoming a favored system to study embryonic development and disease to more faithfully recapitulate in vivo neural architectures and physiology than traditional 2D cultures. A plethora of applications, spanning a wide range of cell types have benefited from B-27 supplements.
Scientists are discovering that B-27 supplements benefit more than just neural cell types in 2D adherent cultures. See Table 1 Citations for the use of B-27 Supplement in 3D culture.
Figure 2. Neural spheroid maturation. (A) Phase contrast images of neural spheroids at 21 days cultured in “classic” B-27 or B-27 Plus (not shown) supplement to yield spheroids of similar size and shape. (B) Gene expression analysis using TaqMan PCR assay shows increased expression level of genes related to functional synapses and neurotransmitter trafficking with the addition of CultureOne Supplement (Cat. No A3320201).
Figure 3. Neural stem cells (NSCs) produce spheroids in B-27 Supplement. NSCs generated from Gibco Human Episomal iPSC Line (Cat No. A18945), or H9 hESC, were cultured in maturation medium consisting of either B-27 Supplement with Neurobasal Medium (Cat No. 21103049) or in B-27 Plus Neuronal Culture System. Cells seeded in Gibco Nunclon Sphera 96-Well Microplates (Cat No. 174925) across a range of densities formed single neural spheroids within 24 hours.
Table 1. Citations for the use of B-27 Supplement in 3D culture.
Which B-27 supplement is right for you?
Choose the relevant application below to locate and order the recommended B-27 supplement for your research.
All Gibco neuronal cell culture reagents are optimized to work together as a complete media system. Need a complementary media or cells? Browse our neural cell culture product guide.
Standard applications / Primary neurons
| Application | Product name | Cat. No. |
|---|---|---|
| Maintenance/maturation of prenatal/fetal primary neurons | B-27 Plus Supplement | A3582801 |
Neural stem / progenitor cells
| Application | Product name | Cat. No. |
|---|---|---|
| Proliferation of neural stem cells | B-27 Supplement, minus vitamin A | 12587010 |
| Differentiation and maintenance/maturation of stem cell–derived neurons | B-27 Supplement | 17504044 |
| Maintenance/maturation of stem cell–derived neurons | B-27 Plus Supplement | A3582801 |
Specialty applications
| Application | Product name | Cat. No. |
|---|---|---|
| Studies of oxidative stress/damage, apoptosis, or where free radical damage to neurons occurs | B-27 Supplement minus AO (antioxidants) | 10889038 |
| Studies of insulin secretion or insulin receptors | B-27 Supplement minus Insulin | A1895601 |
| Electrophysiology studies | B-27 Plus Neuronal Culture System | A3653401 |
Table 2. Cell types and disease models cited in publications using Gibco neuronal cell culture reagents.
| Primary cells | Brainstem, cerebellar, cortical, dopaminergic, DRG, enteric, GABAergic, glutamatergic, hippocampal, motor, neural progenitor, pancreatic, parasympathetic, retinal, septal, striatal, substantia nigral, sympathetic ganglia |
| Stem cells | Induced pluripotent stem cell, neural precursor, neural stem cell, neuroepithelial, cardiomyocytes |
| Glial cells | Astrocyte, microglia, oligodendrocytes, radial glia, satellite, Schwann cells |
| Disease models | Alzheimer’s disease, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), brain tumor, cerebral palsy, epilepsy, glioma, Huntington’s disease, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson’s disease, schizophrenia, spinal cord injury, stroke |
Resources
Application notes: neural cell types
Application notes: other cell types
Scientific posters
COVID 19 Citations:
For Research Use Only. Not for use in diagnostic procedures.
