Cultrex® Basement Membrane Extract (BME) and Extracellular Matrices (ECM) are continuous sheets of specialized proteins that form an interface between endothelial, epithelial, muscle, or neuronal cells and their adjacent stroma. Products include a full range of matrices and purified proteins including Basement Membrane Extracts, Laminin I, Collagen I, Collagen IV, Vitronectin, and Fibronectin. Select Cultrex BME and ECM products undergo additional qualification for use in 3-D cultures, stem cell cultures and cell invasion assays.

Cultrex® Basement Membrane Extract (BME) and Extracellular Matrices (ECM) are continuous sheets of specialized proteins that form an interface between endothelial, epithelial, muscle, or neuronal cells and their adjacent stroma. Products include a full range of matrices and purified proteins including Basement Membrane Extracts, Laminin I, Collagen I, Collagen IV, Vitronectin, and Fibronectin. Select Cultrex BME and ECM products undergo additional qualification for use in 3-D cultures, stem cell cultures and cell invasion assays.

Product Features

• Rapid - gels within 30 minutes at 37 ^°C.
• Reliable - maintains gelled form in culture medium for 14 days.
• Sterile - screened for bacteria, fungi, and mycoplasma.
• Specific - available with reduced growth factor content, with or without Phenol Red, and additional sterility testing.

Cultrex BME for 2-D and 3-D culture is offered in multiple formats to support application-specific needs. Cultrex Reduced Growth Factor (RGF) BME, which is processed to reduce matrix-associated growth factors, is ideal for research that requires a more defined model system.

Cultrex ECM Proteins provide a defined substrate for cell adhesion in culture. Many proteins of the ECM interact with cells via cell surface integrin family receptors. The resulting focal contacts are important for the maintenance of tissue architecture and for supporting a variety of cellular processes. ECM molecule/integrin binding may initiate a complex network of signal transduction cascades that, depending on the context, play an important role in cell spreading, migration, proliferation, and differentiation during embryogenesis, wound healing, and tumor development. To accommodate a variety of different models, we have developed a full range of ECM component proteins including Laminin I, Collagen I, Collagen IV, Fibronectin, and Vitronectin. These include purified proteins that have been qualified for 3-D or stem cell cultures.

We offer cell migration and cell invasion assays in a 96-well microplate-based format. These assays are designed to accelerate the screening process for compounds that influence chemotaxis.

• Cultrex Cell Migration Assays measures the number of cells traversing a porous membrane
• Cultrex Cell Invasion Assays monitor cell movement through extracellular matrices

Invasive migration is a fundamental function underlying cellular processes such as angiogenesis, embryonic development, immune response, metastasis, and invasion of cancer cells. Each assay contains all the reagents necessary to investigate cell invasion through different extracellular matrices and matrix components.