Culture conditions and tissue sample handling are two major factors that cause the variations that usually render primary cell culture both frustrating and unsuccessful for most laboratories.  The available literature and published protocols are often time consuming and expensive since researchers have to prepare and purchase small batches of specialty products to even attempt the protocols.  In addition, the variation between laboratories and individual scientists is a major obstacle that most often leads to difficulty and failure in isolating primary cells from published protocols. 

It is widely accepted that data obtained from primary cells is not only desired, but, most relevant when trying to study physiological interactions.  While most researchers understand this concept, they are limited to the use of cell lines that contain an undefined set of mutations and chromosomal abnormalities.  Nevertheless, the laboratories that have made the leap to primary cell cultures face additional limitations and obstacles when it comes to comparing data within experiments and between laboratories.  These difficulties arise due to the variability among the reagents used and the procedures implemented by individual laboratories to isolate and culture primary cells.  It is simply impossible to avoid such variability because, until recently, a streamlined approach for standardized primary cell culture was not available. 

The end-result from such variability leads to unreliable, non-reproducible results that are very difficult to reconcile and compare between laboratories.  Even within the same laboratory variation between different preparations of primary cells is often an issue due to the variability of materials used in the media and serum preparation, forcing researchers to spend hours standardizing protocols.  The ultimate solution to many of these problems is the creation of a standardized cell culture system that includes all the reagents and protocols leaving only the origin of the tissue as the major source of variability.

It is with these thoughts that scientists at CHI Scientific have set out to develop the first standardized system to isolate and culture primary cells from mammalian tissues.  The system is comprised of a kit called PrimaCell™ that comes complete with the materials and the protocols to allow scientists to isolate primary cells from a given tissue type.   The flexibility, ease and standardization of species-specific, tissue-specific and cell-specific primary cultures systems are extremely important in biomedical research and drug discovery. Experimentation in primary cells allows a deeper and more physiologically relevant view into the cellular function of proteins and enzymes that will allow the design of more specific drugs with meaningful and specific targets.  Perhaps the most useful feature of standard primary cell cultures is the possibility to modulate and compare the metabolic and regulatory pathways of interest and to delineate the physiological effects of various compounds and drugs. The refinement and standardization of these experimental tools can be expected to accelerate cellular and genetic research. Furthermore, a reliable cell culture system can be available as a screening tool in drug discovery, thereby reducing the need for live animals.

The PrimaCell™ System comes in a kit that consists of seven components described below in Figure 1: (1) Tissue-specific tissue dissociation systems; (2) Tissue-specific fibroblast or non-target cell growth inhibitory cocktails; (3) Basal culture and growth media; (4) Complete growth media (growth factors and cytokines) supplements; (5) Highly purified and special treated serum or plant additives; (6) Buffers for tissue preparation; and (7) Detailed instruction manual and complete protocol of isolation and culture of primary cells.