Our project involves the characterization of volar skin - the skin of the foot (heel). I have been trying to isolate keratinocytes from volar skin from pig. But to date not very successful / very low yield. I adapted some standard protocols - using a highly concentrated dispase to be able to separate the epidermis from the dermis and then a prolonged incubation period in TrypLE at 37C and subsequently 4C over night.

I always have a lot of debris and seems to me that even though the solution is turbid I loose cells in the cell straining / washing steps before counting. Also the yield is significantly lower in comparison to keratinocytes from regular epidermis.

Maybe someone has a protocol or some suggestions for me.

Thanks for your time and help,

Christiane