With the effectiveness of 3D cell culture in many areas of research, including anti-cancer drug screening and in vitro tumor studies, the need for better methods to produce replicate spheroids of uniform size in mass quantities has emerged.
The Corning Elplasia 12K flask addresses this need by enabling researchers to generate a high density of spheroids in a scaffold-free model. The Corning Elplasia 12K flask contains 152 microcavities per cm2 in a vessel footprint similar to that of a T-75 flask. Gravity, in conjunction with the Corning Ultra-Low Attachment (ULA) surface, and a rounded microcavity geometry enable formation of approximately 12,000 spheroids of similar shape and size. The ULA surface, a proprietary, animal-free, covalently bonded hydrogel, promotes the formation and easy harvesting of spheroids. The microcavity geometry allows spheroids to remain in place during medium exchange without compromising full recovery at harvest time. The flask’s internal diverter feature allows for minimal disruption of spheroids during liquid handling steps.
The Corning Elplasia 12K flask is compatible with many tumor, normal, and primary cell types often used for 3D cell culture, and may be used across many applications including:
◗ Drug screening
◗ Cancer/Tumor biology
◗ Stem cell biology
◗ Cell therapy research
◗ 3D tissue engineering
Key Features
◗ Corning ULA surface
◗ Optically clear, gas permeable polystyrene film with low
autofluorescence
◗ Liquid diverter feature to minimize impact of liquid flow during
medium exchange steps and flask handling
◗ 80 cm2 surface area with 152 microcavities per cm2 generate
approximately 12,000 spheroids of uniform size and shape
per flask
◗ Round well-bottom geometry
◗ Microcavity geometry dimensions: 850 x 650 μm (top diameter
x depth), with working spheroid growth dimensions of 500 x
600 μm (diameter x depth)
◗ 25 to 50 mL working volume
Key Benefits
◗ Ease of spheroid formation, culture, assessment, and harvest
◗ Creates uniform spheroid formation at large volumes with an
easy to use “plug and play” ready protocol
◗ Scaffold-free cultures
◗ Culture spheroids for up to 30 or more days (cell line-dependent)
◗ Highly reproducible bulk spheroid formation across microcavities
◗ Common media reservoir for equivalent culture conditions for all
spheroids
◗ Compatible with brightfield and fluorescent microscopy
Cell lines evaluated using the Corning Elplasia 12K flask:
Cancer Lines
MCF7 Human breast adenocarcinoma
HT-29/GFP Human colon adenocarcinoma
DU-145 Human prostate carcinoma
A549/GFP Human lung carcinoma
Stem Cells
hMSC Human bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells
iPSC Human induced pluripotent stem cells, normal
Normal Lines
HEK-293/RFP Human embryonic kidney
HUVEC Human umbilical vein
