Specialised Cell Culture Services

The Specialised Cell Culture Service (SCCS) Laboratory within the GDL offers isolation, culture, cryogenic storage and international import and export of cells.  Techniques predominantly involve lymphocyte separation from whole blood, immortalisation of lymphocytes to create continuous cell lines, fibroblast culture and cryopreservation of cells in liquid nitrogen.  Samples from patients with undiagnosed or rare genetic disorders may be deposited and viable cellular material recovered for future clinical, research or quality assurance purposes.

For information relating to tissue culture from skin samples, please see fibroblast cell culture.

Services offered:

  • Lymphocyte separation of peripheral blood samples and cryogenic storage of lymphocytes in liquid nitrogen
  • Transformation of B lymphocytes with EBV virus to produce immortalised lymphoblastoid cell lines for cryogenic storage
  • Short term culture of lymphocytes to produce RNA
  • Import, culture and cryogenic storage of lymphocyte or fibroblast cultures
  • Isolation and culture of melanocytes from NF1 patients for RNA analysis
  • Recovery, culture and export of cryopreserved cells for clinical, research, or quality assurance use (consent of depositor required).