| cell culture | General term referring to the maintenance of cell strains or lines in the laboratory. (18 Nov 1997) |
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| roll-tube culture | A culture in a tube of medium which has been melted and allowed to solidify while the tube is being spun; the inside of the tube is thereby coated with a thin layer of solidified medium. (05 Mar 2000) |
| mixed lymphocyte culture | <investigation> Test to determine whether a patients and donor's white blood cells interact adversely. Often used to determine whether a person would be a suitable bone marrow donor for a particular patient. (16 Dec 1997) |
| mixed lymphocyte culture test | Measure of histocompatibility at the hl-a locus. Peripheral blood lymphocytes from two individuals are mixed together in tissue culture for several days. Lymphocytes from incompatible individuals will stimulate each other to proliferate significantly (measured by tritiated thymidine uptake) whereas those from compatible individuals will not. In the one-way mlc test, the lymphocytes from one of the individuals are inactivated (usually by treatment with mitomycin c or radiation) thereby allowing only the untreated remaining population of cells to proliferate in response to foreign histocompatibility antigens. (12 Dec 1998) |
| confluent culture | <cell biology> A cell culture in which all the cells are in contact and the entire surface of the culture vessel is covered. It is also often used with the implication that the cells have also reached their maximum density, though confluence does not necessarily mean that division will cease or that the population will not increase in size. (18 Nov 1997) |
| continuous culture | <cell culture> A culture of microorganisms in a liquid medium which is maintained under constant conditions with a constant nutrient supply so that it can grow steadily for an extended period of time. Compare: batch culture. (11 Jan 1998) |
| culture | <cell culture, procedure> To grow in vitro. (18 Nov 1997) |
| culture collections | <cell culture> A collection of pure cultures of microorganisms and cultured cell lines. A repository that acts as a biological patenting office and a clearing house for authentic pure cultures. (14 Nov 1997) |
| culture media | Any liquid or solid preparation made specifically for the growth, storage, or transport of microorganisms or other types of cells. The variety of media that exist allow for the culturing of specific microorganisms and cell types, such as differential media, selective media, test media, and defined media. Solid media consist of liquid media that have been solidified with an agent such as agar or gelatin. (12 Dec 1998) |
| culture media, conditioned | Culture media containing biologically active components obtained from previously cultured cells or tissues that have released into the media substances affecting certain cell functions (e.g., growth, lysis). (12 Dec 1998) |
| culture media, serum-free | Culture media free of serum proteins but including the minimal essential substances required for cell growth. This type of medium avoids the presence of extraneous substances that may affect cell proliferation or unwanted activation of cells. (12 Dec 1998) |
| hairy root culture | A relatively new type of plant culture, which consists of highly branched roots of a plant, covered with a mass of tiny root hairs. These cultures do not require hormones or vitamins to grow, so they can grow on simple media of salts and sugars. Just as importantly, they produce secondary metabolites at levels similar to those made in the original plant, so they can be used as replacement plants for making such compounds as food flavours and fragrances. (14 Nov 1997) |
| hanging-block culture | The propagation of microorganisms on a cube of solidified agar medium which is inoculated, attached to a cover glass, and inverted over a moist chamber or hollowed slide. (05 Mar 2000) |
| primary cell culture | <cell culture> Of animal cells, the cells taken from a tissue source and their progeny grown in culture before subdivision and transfer to a sub culture. (18 Nov 1997) |
| pure culture | <cell culture, microbiology> A culture containing a single kind of microorganism. (15 Dec 1997) |