Principles of cancer cell culture

The basics of cell culture are now relatively common, though it was not always so. The pioneers of cell culture would envy our simple access to manufactured plastics, media and equipment for such studies. The prerequisites for cell culture are a well lit and suitably ventilated laboratory with a laminar flow hood (Class II), CO(2) incubator, benchtop centrifuge, microscope, plasticware (flasks and plates) and a supply of media with or without serum supplements. Not only can all of this be ordered easily over the internet, but large numbers of well-characterised cell lines are available from libraries maintained to a very high standard allowing the researcher to commence experiments rapidly and economically. Attention to safety and disposal is important, and maintenance of equipment remains essential. This chapter should enable researchers with little prior knowledge to set up a suitable laboratory to do basic cell culture, but there is still no substitute for experience within an existing well-run laboratory.