Biolaminin 521 CTG (CT521)

Human recombinant laminin 521

Biolaminin 521 CTG is a full-length, human, recombinant laminin 521 substrate, the only one of its kind on the market, providing an optimal environment for feeder-free culture of human PSCs, MSCs and most anchorage-dependent progenitor cell types. With this new clinical-grade product, scientists are supported throughout their cell therapy development process – from concept to commercialized therapy.

A cell culture substrate designed for clinical research

Culturing human cells is about growing human cells outside the human body and recreating the natural cell niche is key to successful cultivation. Whatever your stem cell vision is, you need the right tools to succeed in your research. High-quality products and proper documentation are essential for the successful transition of basic research to cell therapy.

The type of cell culture substrate used in your experiments will have a great impact on your research. Biolaminin 521 CTG (CT521-0501) is a full-length, human, recombinant laminin 521 substrate, the only one of its kind on the market, providing an optimal environment for feeder-free culture of hPSCs. The CT521 substrate only contains components of human origin and provides a defined surface for feeder-free culture of human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) and induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs). The substrate can also be used for mesenchymal stem cell culture and most anchorage-dependent progenitor cell types.


Biolaminin 521 products in different grades – from research to clinical use.

A biologically relevant culture environment

Laminin 521 is a key cell adhesion protein of the natural stem cell niche, expressed and secreted by hPSCs in the inner cell mass of the embryo. The Biolaminin 521 substrate recreates a biologically relevant hPSC milieu in vitro, promoting attachment, high survival, and robust long-term self-renewal of hPSCs. In addition, the more authentic culture environment primes the pluripotent stem cells for more efficient differentiation, enhanced cell maturation, polarization, and organization of specialized cell types.

The laminin 521 cell culture substrates have a positive effect on stabilizing and homogenizing pluripotent gene expression profiles between hES cell lines, providing a more controllable and robust culture system compared to the feeder- and many other feeder-free culture systems. Via the interaction with relevant cell surface receptors, laminins activate cell signaling cascades (e.g. PI3K/Akt pathway), giving consistent cellular responses and improved cell functionality, ultimately saving researchers both time and cost.

Laminin 521 represents one of the most common laminins in the human body, and together with the other laminin isoforms, it supports the efficient expansion and differentiation of many diverse tissue cell types.


Whatever your research aim is, you need a culture substrate that guarantees the highest cell quality and yield. Read more about the related cell applications.

  • Clinical applications and large-scale cell production

    Biolaminin substrates for large-scale manufacturing and clinical use Scaling up high-quality cell production for clinical needs A scalable system for […]
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  • Pluripotent stem cells

    Biorelevant culture of human ES and iPS cells on Biolaminin substrates Biolaminin 521 successfully replicates the genuine human stem cell niche […]
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  • 3D culture

    Biosilk and Biolaminin key advantages 3D cell culture and organoid formation 3D culture systems for disease modeling, drug screening, and […]
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  • Clonal stem cell culture

    Biorelevant clonal stem cell culture on Biolaminin substrates Biolaminin 521 successfully replicates the genuine human stem cell niche in vitro […]
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  • iPSC reprogramming and expansion

    Reprogramming and expansion of human iPS cells on Biolaminin substrates High-efficiency iPSC reprogramming and expansion on Biolaminin 521 Human recombinant Biolaminin […]
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  • Neural cells

    Biorelevant culture of neural cells on Biolaminin substrates Laminins are widely expressed in the nervous system and are essential for […]
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  • Hepatocytes and hepatoblasts

    Biorelevant culture of liver cells on Biolaminin substrates Several laminins play a vital role in liver progenitor cell-mediated regeneration The […]
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  • Eye cells

    Biorelevant culture of eye cells Laminin proteins are important components in the eye microenvironment Biolaminin products have been succesfully used […]
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  • Endothelial cells

    Biorelevant culture of endothelial cells Biolaminin isoforms for vascular endothelial cell culture Endothelial cells that make up the vascular network […]
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Clonal culturing of human embryonic stem cells on laminin-521/E-cadherin matrix in defined and xeno-free environment

Rodin S., Antonsson L., Niaudet C., Simonson O.E., Salmela E., Hansson E.M., Domogatskaya A., Xiao Z., Damdimopoulou P., Sheikhi M., Inzunza J., Nilsson A.S., Baker D., Kuiper R., Sun Y., Blennow E., Nordenskjöld M., Grinnemo K.H., Kere J., Betsholtz C., Hovatta O., Tryggvason K.

Nature Communications, 2014

Monolayer culturing and cloning of human pluripotent stem cells on laminin-521 based matrices under xeno-free and chemically defined conditions

Rodin S., Antonsson L., Hovatta O., Tryggvason K.

Nature Protocols, 2014

a-5 Laminin Synthesized by Human Pluripotent Stem Cells Promotes Self-Renewal

Laperle A., Hsiao C., Lampe M., Mortier J., Saha K., Palecek S.P., and Masters K.S.

Stem Cell Reports, 2015

Laminin 521 stabilizes the pluripotency expression pattern of human embryonic stem cells initially derived on feeder cells

Albalushi H., Kurek M., Karlsson L., Landreh L., Rós Kjartansdóttir K., Söder O., Hovatta O., Stukenborg J-B.

Stem Cell International, 2017

Niche-derived laminin-511 promotes midbrain dopaminergic neuron survival and differentiation through YAP

Zhang D., Yang S., Toledo E.M., Gyllborg D., Saltó C., Villaescusa J.C., Arenas E.

Sci Signal. 2017

Size guide

Not sure how much laminin you need? To make it easy, we have created a tool where you can calculate the amount needed for your experiments. Just choose culture well format and fill in the desired coating concentration to see the amount required.