The Üsküdar University Cell Culture Laboratory is an advanced research and application center established to isolate, produce, and propagate plant, animal, or human cells in controlled artificial environments (in vitro) outside living organisms, and to investigate their genetic and physiological mechanisms.
- Primary Objective: To enable students and researchers in the fields of cell biology, molecular genetics, cancer biology, and biotechnology to gain the skills necessary to conduct experimental studies and manipulate primary or continuous cell lines under sterile conditions.
- Academic Contribution: The laboratory enables the analysis of drug responses, toxicity thresholds, and molecular signaling pathways at the cellular level, independent of the complex tissue structures of living systems. This helps students develop evidence-based biomedical and genetic research skills at the academic level.
Equipment and Technical Infrastructure in the Laboratory
The laboratory infrastructure is designed to maintain absolute sterility (aseptic environment) as required by the nature of in vitro studies, to keep the physiological conditions required by cells (temperature, humidity, gas balance) constant, and to visualize cellular reactions with high precision. The technical equipment available in the laboratory, as part of its Key Features, includes the following:
- Class II Biosafety Cabinets (Laminar Flow Cabinets): Sterile airflow workstations that, thanks to HEPA filtration systems, protect both the cell samples being studied from external contamination and the researcher from cellular agents.
- Carbon Dioxide Incubators: Precision incubation cabinets that continuously optimize temperature (37 °C), humidity, and carbon dioxide levels to simulate the natural in vivo environment of cells.
- Inverted (Inverted) Light and Phase-Contrast Microscopes: Optical analysis systems that visualize cells from below—without opening the culture vessels (flasks/Petri dishes)—to assess their adhesion properties to the vessel bottom, morphological structures, viability, and proliferation density.
- Refrigerated Centrifuges: Systems used to centrifuge cell suspensions, culture media, and chemical solutions—or to separate them into their phases—at desired rotation speeds (RPM) and temperature parameters without damaging the cell structure.
- Water Baths (Bain-Marie): Precise heating baths used in cell freezing/thawing processes and to bring cell culture media to a physiological temperature of 37 °C before adding them to the culture.
- Cryogenic Storage Systems (Liquid Nitrogen Tanks) and -80 °C Freezers: Ultra-low-temperature archiving units that enable cell lines to be preserved for many years without losing viability (cryopreservation).
- Automated Cell Counting Devices (Thomasson Slide / Hemocytometer and Digital Counters): Instruments that determine the total cell concentration in a culture and the live/dead cell ratios (viability analysis) using the trypan blue staining technique, either microscopically or digitally.
Research Areas and Application Areas
The experimental curricula, R&D projects, and graduate thesis studies conducted within the Cell Culture Laboratory cover the most strategic areas of biomedical sciences:
- Cancer Biology and Oncology Research: Identifying the proliferation mechanisms of cancer cell lines (HeLa, MCF-7, etc.) and investigating the ability of anti-cancer drug candidates to induce apoptosis (programmed cell death) in tumor cells.
- Cytotoxicity and Biocompatibility Tests: Measuring the toxic effects of newly synthesized chemical compounds, plant extracts, or medical device surface materials on healthy living cells (XTT, MTT assays, etc.).
- Cell Proliferation and Signaling Pathways: Monitoring cell growth factors, changes in gene expression, and cellular migration (wound healing / scratch assay) mechanisms in vitro.
- Aseptic Techniques and Medium Preparation Practices: Training on the preparation of media for cell growth by mixing amino acids, vitamins, serum (FBS), and antibiotics in the correct proportions and sterilizing them using filtration methods.
Contributions to Students and the Industry
The Cell Culture Laboratory prepares students for the global biotechnology market by elevating their molecular biology skills to an industrial R&D level.
- Sterility and Quality Validation Awareness: Students internalize strict sterilization protocols and the discipline of using personal protective equipment by applying them firsthand, understanding that even the smallest bacterium or fungal spore can undo weeks of hard work.
- Industry-Ready Workforce: Graduates who successfully gain hands-on experience with in vitro techniques, incubator management, and biosafety cabinet operations in this laboratory are well-prepared for roles such as “Biologist,” “Molecular Biology Specialist,” “R&D Researcher,” or “Quality Control Officer” in pharmaceutical companies’ preclinical research departments, biotechnology production facilities, in vitro fertilization (IVF) centers, stem cell laboratories, and cancer research institutes as “Biologists,” “Molecular Biology Specialists,” “R&D Researchers,” or “Quality Control Officers.”
Frequently Asked Questions
Which departments use this laboratory?
This laboratory is primarily used by students and researchers in the undergraduate and graduate programs in Molecular Biology and Genetics (English/Turkish) and Biomedical Engineering within the Faculty of Engineering and Natural Sciences. In addition, other health and natural sciences programs conducting cell-focused multidisciplinary projects—such as medicine, pharmacy, and neuroscience—can also benefit from the laboratory.
What tests and analyses are performed in the laboratory?
The laboratory performs cell viability and proliferation analyses (MTT, XTT assays), cytotoxicity (cell toxicity) assays, cell morphology and fluorescence microscopy analyses, wound healing/cell migration (scratch assay) tests, and cell freezing/thawing stability validations.
Is virus production or research on pathogenic viruses conducted in the laboratory?
No, this laboratory is optimized according to Class II biosafety standards and primarily works with cancer cell lines, primary cell cultures, and non-pathogenic model organism cells. It does not have the BSL-3 or BSL-4 quarantine infrastructure required for the production or study of high-risk pathogenic viruses (such as HIV, Ebola, etc.).
Is the laboratory open to external industry collaborations?
Yes, the laboratory is open to industry partnerships with pharmaceutical companies, biotechnology start-ups-ups, and cosmetic raw material manufacturers for preclinical drug molecule testing, cytotoxicity analyses of plant extracts, and academic consulting projects.
Can students conduct practical work in the laboratory outside of class hours?
Yes, students may use the laboratory facilities outside of class hours as part of their thesis projects, TÜBİTAK student projects, or academic research activities—provided they have the approval of laboratory coordinators and thesis advisors, adhere to specific cell culture feeding/passaging schedules, and are under direct expert supervision.
