Lonza

Primary and Stem Cells

Primary cells offer a biologically more relevant model than immortalized cell lines. You can get ethically sourced and thoroughly tested cells from most human tissues, when you need the cells. It is possible get certain information regarding the donors in advance. Lonza has optimized a cultivation kit, a Bullet kit, containing the medium together with all the supplements for each cell type.

Contamination of cell cultures by mycoplasmas is a common problem. Mycoplasma infection has a great impact on the cells and their gene expression profiles, and influence almost all functions of the host cell metabolism. Lonza’s MycoAlert kit detects viable mycoplasma in less than 20 minutes. A small sample of the cell culture media is used with a simple two-step protocol. The kit is universal for a wide range of mollicutes, but there is no interference with bacteria. Check the tutorial video.

Transfection

Since its introduction in 2001, Nucleofector® Technology has transformed transfection. Nucleofection® Technology has proven to be a reliable and reproducible easy-to-use technology, suited to a wide variety of applications. The 4D-Nucleofector® System was developed to offer advanced performance, flexibility and convenience. The system is controlled by intuitive software on an up-to-date touchscreen user interface. Its modular architecture allows seamless expansion of the system for new applications.

With over 325 protocols optimized by Lonza’s R&D Team for cell lines and primary cells and more than 75 entries in the online Cell Transfection Database, Nucleofector® Technology is the transfection method of choice for difficult-to-transfect cell types. Nucleofector® Technology offers high flexibility within applications, since the same transfection parameters apply for almost all substrates. DNA vectors, RNA duplexes, RNPs and peptides can be transfected using the sophisticated transfection protocols.

Experience the advanced Nucleofector® platform:

• A novel conductive polymer-based cuvette system completely free of toxic metal ions

• Transfection of different amount of cells using the same conditions

• Higher throughput for screening experiments

• Transfection of cells in adherence, like neuronal cells

• Efficient transfection of even non-dividing cells like T-cells

• Closed, scalable transfection of larger cell numbers in the range of 1x10⁷ to 1x10⁹ cells per reaction

This animation shows how transfection with Nucleofection technology differs from conventional electroporation.

Endotoxin and Pyrogen Testing

There are multiple methods available for detecting pyrogens and bacterial endotoxins. Traditionally endotoxin testing exploits blood clotting properties of horseshoe crabs. The Limulus amebocyte lysate (LAL) reacts to the presence of endotoxins and this reaction can be used as a basis of laboratory testing in quality control. Lonza offers both qualitative gel clot tests and quantitative turbidimetric or chromogenic LAL tests.

The first enzyme in the clotting cascade is the Factor C, binding specifically to the lipopolysaccharide molecules on bacterial membranes. Animal-free, recombinant Factor C enzyme can be utilized in endotoxin testing. The rFC test, PyroGene rFC test from Lonza, is more sustainable and can be used to replace the LAL-based tests.

There is a risk of non-endotoxin pyrogens causing inflammation. Traditionally pyrogen testing relied on rabbit-based testing. Newer, more sustainable methods are based on monocyte activation which is tested with an inflammation marker, IL-6 cytokine ELISA assay. Lonza’s PyroCell MAT test is a complete solution for detecting both bacterial endotoxins and non-endotoxin pyrogens.

It is important to use compatible consumables, which have been tested free of endotoxins to the same detection level as the endotoxin test itself. Lonza’s range covers everything from pipette tips and well plates to water. The signal is read with microplate readers and analyzed with a special software. If you are in the field of microbiological quality control, you might want to become a QC Insider, and benefit from a vast resource library specialized in endotoxin testing.

Electrophoresis Products

Electrophoresis is a common method when working with nucleic acids. Whether you want to cast your agarose gels yourself or want to get your results quicker by choosing precast gels, we got you covered! Lonza’s selection of agaroses offers the right agarose for all applications.

FlashGel is a system you can configure according to your application. The dock is used for running the precast FlashGels. Dock also has a built-in blue light source for safe real-time monitoring and DNA recovery. Power supply and camera are also available. Just slide the precast FlashGel in the dock, load the samples and separate your bands in just 5 minutes!