What's Killing My Cell Cultures? Troubleshooting Cell Growth Issues

Nothing's more maddening than cells that won't grow or cell cultures that won't attach. Stunted cell growth and erratic culture behavior can delay projects, frustrate teams, and leave researchers wondering what went wrong and how they can fix it.

Solutions to these problems aren't always straightforward. Cell culturing is complex, and it takes time to pick apart the process and isolate issues. Generally, the most common issues include abnormal growth patterns or spotty, uneven, or inconsistent cell attachment. Other problems include slow or sudden changes in growth rate or unexplainable outcomes.

Such issues tend to be associated with culture technique, incubation, and media. Let's explore a few of these pain points and how you can preempt their effects with good practices.