Why Does Albumin Matter?

Culturing neuronal cells in vitro has been a model system for studying neurosciences, neuro diseases, and various aspects of drug developments. It is convenient, as researchers can visually access and manipulate the living cell.

For decades of effort, several methodologies of culturing from neuronal stem cells (NSC) to neuron subtypes are developed, and these NSC can either be derived from iPS, ES or isolated from primary tissue.

Today, while commercial medium and supplements have claimed the opposite, many labs still prefer to apply astrocyte feeder in neuronal culture, aiming for the longevity of cells in the dish and based on the belief that cells are "healthier" in the co-culture environment.

Albumin is used in most reported medium formula (ref. 1), and it is critical for the plating survival rate as well as the maturation of neurons (ref. 2, 3). However, owing to its history as a by-product in the plasma fractionation process and its stickiness toward other plasma molecules, Albumin has long been considered to have untenable lot-to-lot variations.

Here, we demonstrate that with our deAlbumin™ as a supplement, feeder-free NSC culture could yield a high survival rate and faster maturation toward the co-culture system.

Healthier Neuron by the Defined Composition

deAlbumin™ is a formulated recombinant rHSA derived from yeast, on which all small molecules associated are stripped and re-associated from a defined recipe of such small molecules. deAlbumin™ can boost the plating NSC cell number NS21/Neurobasal system by 73% and the maturation of neurons which can be quantified by the 5-fold length of neurite outgrowth.