TheEpiCorneal3Dhumantissuemodelprovidesahighlypredictivenon-animalalternativetoassessdrugdelivery,infection,woundhealing/tissueregenerationanddiseasemodeling(i.e.DryEye).
Technology:
MatTek’sEpiCornealtissuemodelconsistsofnormalhumancornealepithelialcellsculturedtoformastratified,squamousepitheliumwhichcloselyparallelsnormalhumancornealtissue.Thecornealcells,culturedonspeciallypreparedcellcultureinsertswithserum-freemedium,differentiatetoformamulti-layeredstructure.
Usedindrugdeliveryanddrugdevelopment,EpiCornealisamitoticallyandmetabolicallyactivetissuewithbarrierpropertiesapproachingthoseofthehumancornea.EpiCornealcanbestimulatedtoreleasemanycytokinesknowntobeimportantininflammationanddiseasessuchasdryeye.Further,theadvanced3Dtissuemodelexpressescorneaspecificdrugtransportersandmetabolizingenzymes.
Applications:
CornealDrugDeliveryandCornealToxicity
EpiCornealcloselyrecapitulatesthephysiology,3Dtissuearchitecture,andfunctionofthehumancorneaforuseinpharmaceuticaldevelopmentapplications.
ContactDr.YuliaKaluzhnyformoreinformation.
BrowseourreferencelibrarytoseehowourEpiCornealtissuehasbeenusedintheseareasofstudy.
TechSpecs:
Tissue
Kit:AstandardEpiCornealkit(COR-100)consistsof24tissues.(Tissue“kits”containtissues,asmallamountofculturemedium,andplasticware;contactMatTekforspecifickitcontents)
Formats:9mmindividualinserts–tissueculturesubstrateischemicallymodifiedwithaporesizeof0.4μm
Culture:Air-liquidinterface
Histology:4-5celllayers–stratified,squamousmorphologyandtissuestructure
Lotnumbers:Tissuelotsproducedeachweekareassignedaspecificlotnumber.Aletterofthealphabetisappendedtotheendofthelotnumbertodifferentiatebetweenindividualkitswithinagivenlotoftissues.Alltissuekitswithinalotareidenticalinregardstocells,medium,handling,cultureconditions,etc.
Shipment:At4°Conmedium-supplemented,agarosegels
Shipmentday:EveryMonday
Delivery:TuesdaymorningviaFedExpriorityservice(US).OutsideUS:Tuesday-Thursdaydependingonlocation
Shelflife:Includingtimeintransit,tissuesmaybestoredat4°Cforupto3dayspriortouse.However,extendedstorageperiodsarenotrecommendedunlessnecessary.Inaddition,thebestreproducibilitywillbeobtainediftissuesareusedconsistentlyonthesameday,e.g.Tuesdayafternoonorfollowingovernightstorageat4°C(Wednesdaymorning)
Cells
Type:Normalhumancornealepithelialcells(HCEC)
Geneticmake-up:Singledonor
Derivedfrom:Healthydonor
Screenedfor:HIV,Hepatitis-B,Hepatitis-C,mycoplasma
Medium
Basemedium:Dulbecco’sModifiedEagle’sMedium(DMEM).
Growthfactors/hormones:Epidermalgrowthfactor,insulin,hydrocortisoneandotherproprietarystimulatorsofcornealepithelialdifferentiation.
Serum:None.
Antibiotics:Penicillin(50U/ml)/Streptomycin(50µg/ml)
Anti-fungalagent:AmphotericinB(0.125µg/ml).
pHIndicator:Phenolred.
Alternatives:Phenolred-free,antibiotic/anti-fungal-free,orhydrocortisone-freemediumandtissueareavailable.Agentsareremovedatleast3dayspriortoshipment.
Maintenancemedium:MostexperimentswithEpiCorneal™areperformedwithin48hours.However,forlongerexperiments,thetissuecanbemaintainedinCOR-100-MM(identicaltoEpiCorneal™assaymedium).
QualityControlandSterility
Visualinspection:Alltissuesarevisuallyinspectedandifphysicalimperfectionsarenoted,tissuesarerejectedforshipment
Sterility:Allmediausedthroughouttheproductionprocessischeckedforsterility.Maintenancemediumisincubatedwithandwithoutantibioticsfor1weekandcheckedforsterility.Theagarosegelfromthe24-wellplateusedforshippingisalsoincubatedfor1weekandcheckedforanysignofcontamination
Screeningforpathogens:AllcellsarescreenedandarenegativeforHIV,hepatitisBandhepatitisCusingPCR.However,noknowntestmethodcanoffercompleteassurancethatthecellsarepathogenfree.Thus,theseproductsandallhumanderivedproductsshouldbehandledatBSL-2levels(biosafetylevel2)orhigherasrecommendedintheCDC-NIHmanual,“BiosafetyinmicroBIOLOGicalandbiomedicallaboratories,”1998.Forfurtherassistance,pleasecontactyoursiteSafetyOfficerorMatTektechnicalservice
Notificationoflotfailure:IfatissuelotfailsourQCorsterilitytesting,thecustomerwillbenotifiedandthetissueswillbereplacedwithoutchargewhenappropriate.BecauseourQCandsterilitytestingisdonepost-shipment,notificationwillbemadeassoonaspossIBLe(Undernormalcircumstances,ET-50failureswillbenotifiedbyWednesday5p.m.;sterilityfailureswillbenotifiedwithin8daysofshipment)
