Cell culture environment
Culture conditions vary widely for each cell type, but the artificial environment in which the cells are cultured invariably consists of a suitable vessel containing the following:
-
A proper culture medium where cells can grow and survive. That includes:
-
A substrate or medium that supplies the essential nutrients (amino acids, carbohydrates, vitamins, minerals).
-
Growth factors.
-
Hormones.
-
-
Gasses
(O2, CO2) oxygen and carbon dioxide , usually provided by an incubator. -
Regulated Physico-chemical conditions (pH, osmotic pressure, temperature), provided by both culture media and incubator.
Most cells are anchorage-dependent and must be cultured while attached to a solid or semi-solid substrate (adherent or monolayer culture). For these cells, adhesion is crucial to triggering the subsequent events: survival, growth, division and differentiation. Therefore, polystyrene surface of the cell culture vessels must be chemically modified to provide that substrate (although for certain cell lines a special substrate must be provided, such as Poly-D-lysine or collagen). There are also other cells that can be grown floating in the culture medium (suspension culture).