Can cells which have been growing on feeder-free substrates, such as Matrigel, be directly transferred onto Biolaminin? Will cells look the same after transfer?

When moving your cells to Biolaminin 521 from another feeder-free matrix (i.e. Matrigel or vitronectin), generally no specific adaptation is needed. We recommend transferring the cells as single cells (or as small clumps) and always with the addition of ROCKi for the first few (3-5) passages. If the cells are hard to adapt, use a higher coating concentration (10 µg/ml for LN521 or 20 µg/ml for MX521 and CT521) and seed at a higher cell density 50 000–100 000 cells/cm². Once the cells are adapted, a lower coating and seeding concentration can often be used.

It is important that the cells transferred to the Biolaminin 521 matrix are of high quality. Biolaminin 521 supports the maintenance of pluripotent cells but may also support some differentiated cells. Therefore, it is important that only undifferentiated cell colonies are being transferred.

Cell morphology should not change much, however, you should be prepared for a different growth pattern. Biolaminin 521 promotes high migration which is vital for cell survival. That will render a more even spread of the cells as compared to feeders and other feeder-free matrices. Also, the cells will likely grow faster.