Cell Line Platform

The generation of stable cell lines is one key step in the development of cell-based assays, as it ensures consistent and reproducible results. We hold a large selection of ready-to-go cell lines that allow for a variety of assays, such as reporter gene or more sophisticated readouts, to quick-start your assay development campaign.

In our modern facilities, we work with a variety of cells, including:

  • mammalian cell lines
  • stem cells
  • iPSCs
  • primary cells
  • organoids
  • fungi

We routinely generate cell lines for a variety of assay types upon request. In close collaboration with you, the best strategy is applied to obtain optimal cell lines for each project. Strict clone selection and quality control ensure robust and highly sensitive cell lines. Processes for cell-line banking, quality control, and subsequent expansion are in place, providing you with full documentation.

Routinely performed genetic modifications in our laboratories (German biosafety levels 1 and 2) include:

  • classical recombinant overexpression
  • inducible gene expression (i.e., Tet-on, Tet-off)
  • CRISPR–Cas9 genome editing for target knock-in, knock-out
  • shRNA/siRNA knock-down approaches
  • lentiviral transduction

The use of frozen, assay-ready cells has proven to be advantageous in HTS campaigns or for regular testing over longer periods of time. They can be used directly from ultra-low-temperature storage on the day of the assay. Validated frozen cell productions can help to reduce the assay variability typically associated with continuous cell culture (caused by, for example, contaminations or clonal drift), and we have successfully used this approach for over a decade now. We made it part of our assay development process to assess cell lines for their potential to be used as frozen assay-ready cells. In addition, we produce large quantities of frozen cells in-house to support entire HTS campaigns.

References:
Bergsdorf, et al., A one-day, dispense-only IP-One HTRF assay for high-throughput screening of Galphaq protein-coupled receptors: towards cells as reagents. Assay Drug Dev Technol (2008)