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Q4: How long can cells be stretched?
A4: The duration depends on cell strain and condition. In general, two weeks cultivation in the
incubator is possible with culture media changes every 2-3 days. It is also important to monitor
reservoir coolant for the instrument motor. Insufficient amount of the cooling water may increase
the temperature of the motor resulting in killing of cells and /or burning out the motor.
Q5: How can I obtain protein or mRNA samples from the cells attached to the silicone membrane?
A5: (1) Proteins for Western blotting: Wash the cells once with PBS. Add SDS-PAGE sample
loading dye directly into the chamber, and collect the cell extract by using a cell scraper.
(2) Proteins for Immunoprecipitation: Wash the cells once with PBS. Add cell extract buffer directly
into the chamber, and collect the cell extract by using a cell scraper.
(3) RNA: Wash the cells once with PBS (for RNA preparation). Add RNA extraction buffer directly
into the chamber, and collect the cell extract by using a cell scraper.
Q6: I want to use recombinant cells for an experiment.
A6: Direct transfection of cells in the strain chamber may be possible. However, transfection itself
may damage the cells, which may make getting clear image data difficult. We recommend
performing the transfection in a normal culture dish then transferring the recombinant cells into the
strain chamber.
Q7: Cells seem to be crowded in the center of the chamber instead of being uniformly distributed
throughout the chamber.
A7: Vibration from the incubator may disrupt the distribution of the cells. We recommend gently
rocking the chamber 15 minutes after seeding your cells.
