BioLife Solutions Incorporated and Corning Incorporated Announce Increased Cell Performance Through Product Combination

BioLife Solutions Inc., a leading manufacturer of proprietary cryopreservation solutions for cells and tissue preservation, and Corning Incorporated today announced the publication of a report that describes the benefits of the combination of the BioLife CryoStor™ CS5 with Corning’s CellBIND® Surface.

The integration of these complementary technologies resulted in a significant increase in the survival and attachment of LNCaP cells as compared to traditional solutions and tissue culture treated (TCT) surfaces. The CryoStor/Corning CellBIND Surface combined approach offers a distinct advantage to the pharmaceutical, drug discovery, and toxicity testing industries by enabling researchers to reduce time and effort presently required to collect, store, retrieve and utilize high-quality cryopreserved cells. This thereby increases productivity and cost-effectiveness of in vitro screening processes.

“This validation of serum-free and protein-free CryoStor provides an important endorsement of our preservation technology platform and intellectual property portfolio,” said Mike Rice, chief executive officer, BioLife Solutions. “The study jointly performed by Corning and BioLife scientists demonstrates fundamental advantages that the combined products offer to a broad industry base, including drug discovery and cellular therapy.”

Data from independent experiments showed that the Cryostor solution and Corning CellBIND surface product combination offered a 58-percent increase in post-preservation cell survival when compared to traditional tissue culture surface and serum and protein based freezing media. “It’s important to note that cell survival was measured 24 hours post-thaw, a much more relevant performance metric than immediate post-thaw survival measurement, which often gives researchers a false sense of practical cell function and viability,” added John G. Baust, PhD, chief scientific officer, BioLife Solutions.

“These independently verified results confirm the benefits of using the Corning CellBIND surface combined with the protein-free BioLife CryoStorCS5 freezing solution to improve the survival of LNCaP cells,” said Mark Beck, vice president and general manager, Corning Life Sciences. “Our relationship with BioLife further demonstrates our commitment to developing innovative technologies and/or partnering with industry leaders to provide our global customers with the solutions and expertise they require to improve performance and results.”

The report, titled “Enhanced Survival of LNCaP Cells Following Cryopreservation Using the CryoStor CS5 Preservation Solutions and Corning CellBIND Surface,” was co-authored by Corning and BioLife Solutions scientists and appeared in the Oct. 15, 2006 issue of Genetic Engineering News. Additionally, a Corning application note (SnAPPShot) on the performance results can be accessed here.

The CryoStor family of preservation solutions represents the next generation of cryopreservation (freeze) media. Designed to prepare and preserve cells in ultra-low temperature environments (-80ºC to -196ºC), CryoStor provides a safe, protective environment for cells and tissues during the freezing, storage, and thawing process. Through modulating the cellular biochemical response to the cryopreservation process, CryoStor provides for enhanced cell viability and functionality while eliminating the need to include serum, proteins or high levels of cytotoxic agents.

The Corning CellBIND surface is the first novel cell culture surface treatment in more than 20 years. The surface enhances attachment, making it easier to grow fastidious cells under difficult conditions including reduced-serum and serum-free medium, and resulting in higher cell yields. Developed by Corning scientists, this patented (US Patent # 6,617,152) technology uses a microwave process for treating the culture surface. This new process improves cell attachment by incorporating significantly more oxygen into the cell culture surface, rendering it more hydrophilic and increasing surface stability.