Cell Line Authentication

Posted on Feb 1, 2012 in iBlog

Are your cell lines contaminated or misidentified?

THE PROBLEM…

• 15-30% of all cell lines are cross contaminated with other cell lines or are misidentified (Science, Feb. 2007).
• Contamination results in invalid data PLUS wasted time and money.
• Journals are considering requiring authentication of cell lines prior to publication .
• NIH recently issued a notice discussing the need for cell authentication for studies proposed in grant applications.

- Editorial: Identity crisis: It is time for all involved to tackle the chronic scandal

of cell-line contamination. (Nature 457, 935-936,2009)

- A cell line early in the cross-contamination process. (From BioTechniques.com)