Cologne, Germany / Walkersville, MD, USA, 26 May 2015 – Lonza has announced that it will be showcasing three new products for stem cell researchers at the upcoming International Society for Stem Cell Research (ISSCR) Annual Meeting (Stockholm, Sweden, 24 to 27 June 2015), through poster presentations, as part of an Innovation Showcase session and at its exhibition booth at the event.
These new innovations include an updated version of Lonza’s L7™ hiPSC Reprogramming and hPSC Culture System, which now includes the option to select specific reagents and protocols for reprogramming peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs). Lonza will also showcase the CytoSMART™ Live Cell Imaging System, an innovative, cost-effective tool for remotely monitoring and analyzing cell cultures. In addition, it will provide a preview of the upcoming RAFT™ Collagen-Based 3D Cell Culture System for growing and studying cells in a more in vivo-like environment.
Lonza’s Innovation Showcase session will be held on 25 June 2015 (11:30 to 12:30 in Room A4) and is entitled "Smart Technologies for Advancing Stem Cell Research and Discoveries." It will include three presentations:
- "The Generation of Down Syndrome iPS Cells Using Infant Blood with Lonza’s L7™ Reprogramming and Culture System," by Pollyanna Goh, Ph.D., Post-Doctoral Research Associate, Centre for Genomics and Child Health, Blizard Institute, Barts and the London School of Medicine and Dentistry, Queen Mary University of London.
- "CytoSMART™ Live Cell Imaging System for Real-Time Evaluation of Human iPSC Cultivation and Maintenance within a cGMP Compliant Process," by Behnam Ahmadian, Ph.D., Lonza Walkersville, Inc., Senior Manager, Scientific PSC Programs.
- "RAFT™: A Bio-Mimetic 3D Culture Method for PSC Hepatocyte Differentiation, Maturation, and Modelling of In Vivo Systems," by Richard L. Gieseck III, Ph.D. Candidate, NIH-Cambridge Scholar, Wellcome Trust-Medical Research Council Stem Cell Institute, Anne McLaren Laboratory for Regenerative Medicine, Department of Surgery, University of Cambridge.
A number of researchers who are currently collaborating with Lonza will also be presenting posters at ISSCR, demonstrating the effective use of Lonza’s L7™ System across a range of experimental applications. These posters can be viewed in Exhibition Hall B during the poster presentation reception sessions scheduled each evening between approximately 18.00 and 20.00.
Dr. Minh Hong, Marketing Manager for Bioscience Solutions at Lonza Walkersville, Inc, said: "hiPSCs are a powerful tool for use across a range of primary research and therapeutic applications. However, they can be challenging to generate and nurture. The new products we’ll be showcasing at ISSCR have been explicitly developed to make reprogramming, proliferation, and downstream experiments simpler, easier and more effective. As part of our wider cell culture product portfolio, they demonstrate Lonza’s ongoing commitment to provide researchers with expert tools, designed to drive discovery."
Showcasing the Latest Technologies for Supporting Stem Cell Research
In its presentations, Lonza will explain how its latest technological innovations support stem cell research. These include the new L7™ PBMC Reprogramming Bundle, which offers an optimized protocol and new reagents for generating human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs) from PBMCs, including supportive growth media as well as specific reprogramming enhancers. The new bundle works seamlessly with other elements of the L7™ Workflow: once the hiPSC lines have been created, these can be expanded, passaged and preserved using the existing components of the L7™ System.
The CytoSMART™ Live Cell Imaging System highlighted in the second presentation is a small, affordable and easy-to-use tool that allows researchers to view and record cell cultures remotely with the CytoSMART™ System via Lonza’s CytoSMART™ Cloud Technology. It is an ideal system for the documentation and monitoring of iPSC generation or for the remote monitoring of stem cells grown under hypoxic conditions.
Lastly, the RAFT™ 3D Culture System will be previewed at the event ahead of its launch later this year. The system is designed to offer a realistic and reproducible extracellular matrix for cells to grow in. The novel RAFT™ Absorber Technology gently removes media from the culture plate to create high-density cell-seeded collagen gels that mimic the natural in vivo environment. It is a highly versatile system available in a number of formats, supporting a wide variety of research applications.
Meet with Lonza at ISSCR 2015
Lonza invites all ISSCR 2015 attendees wishing to learn more about how Lonza’s innovative products can support stem cell research to visit exhibition booth B04:11, attend the showcase session or visit the poster receptions.