In the process of in vitro cell culture, culture flasks, culture plates, and culture dishes need to not only possess good transparency and be non-toxic and sterile but also require surface modification treatment to enable them to adhere, divide, and grow. In vitro culture of cells and tissues has become a part of life science research and practice. The types of cultured cells are numerous, ranging from viruses to bacteria and fungi, from human cells to animal cells and plant cells. Cell culture must rely on cell culture wares to achieve the conditions required for cell growth. So, what are the differences between cell culture flasks, culture dishes, and culture plates, and how should one choose?
Cell Culture Flasks
Cell culture flasks are named based on their surface area, for example T25, T75, T175, where the number represents the surface area, 25 means 25cm2. The lids of cell culture flasks mainly come in two types: breathable and sealed. You can choose based on the oxygen requirements of the cells. It should be noted that adherent cell culture requires the flasks to undergo TC surface treatment to accommodate the cells' adhesion and growth.
Cell Culture Dishes
Cell culture dishes can be categorized based on their bottom area, such as 35mm, 60mm, 175mm, 200m, 225mm, etc. The primary function of cell culture dishes is for simple cell culture, suitable for small experiments or sample culture.
Cell Culture Plates
Cell culture plates have many wells, with common specifications including 6-well, 24-well, 48-well, 96-well, and other specifications. Cell culture plates can be divided into flat-bottom and round-bottom (U-shaped and V-shaped) according to the shape of the bottom.
Cell Culture Flasks
Cell culture flasks are the most suitable cell culture wares for long-term cell culture, large-scale cell expansion, and contamination prevention in the laboratory. They allow for the convenient and safe handling of cells, reducing the risk of contamination and ensuring the safe progression of experimental procedures.
Cell Culture Dishes
Cell culture dishes are generally suitable for temporary cultures. They are convenient to operate, whether for media change, passage, or cell harvesting. However, due to the large opening, they are more prone to contamination.
Cell Culture Plates
Flat-bottom culture plates are generally used for adherent cells. V-shaped plates are typically used for suspending cells. U-shaped culture plates are also widely used for culturing suspension cells. V-shaped culture plates are sometimes used for immunological hemagglutination experiments. Round-bottom ones are commonly used for analysis, chemical reactions, or sample storage.
The difference between culture flasks and dishes lies in the level of safety and the number of cells being cultured. For experiments using cells as carriers or subjects, culture dishes are more suitable due to their smaller quantity requirements, cell-saving attributes, and ease of conducting control experiments. However, since culture dishes have large openings, they are more prone to contamination, so extra care must be taken during operations.
For primary culture of tissue blocks or culturing cells prone to contamination, culture flasks are used. After passing the cultured cells, the choice of vessels can be based on personal preference. Culture flasks have a larger area, making them suitable for large-scale cell expansion.
Both cell culture flasks and dishes are containers used in laboratories for microbial or cell culture. The specific choice of cell culture wares depends on the specific needs of the experiment and the method of cell culture, whether it is suspension or adherent culture. Choosing the right consumables is the foundation for successful experiments.
