I’m losing my cell-embedded hydrogel discs during the washes needed for staining, which is causing me to lose my entire cell samples for imaging assays.
Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated please!
I think the type of hydrogel and plate is important
Commercial plates can have a charged surface and hydrogels often have charged groups
If you use sodium alginate, use negatively charged plates to stick to the plate
If the hydrogel network is destroyed during washing and the hydrogels become dirty, you should use more stable hydrogels such as chitosan or PVA. Alginate has low stability.
Or you can use collagen and hyaluronic acid, which have receptors on the cell and stimulate the cell to make ECM, and as a result, a better scaffold is produced and is more resistant to washing.
Can you please share with us which hydrogel formulation and staining protol are you using? Also, for how long do you culture your cells within the disks?
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