Extracellular Matrices (ECM) Support—Troubleshooting

Geltrex™ Matrix is a basement membrane extract that contains collagen IV, laminin, and other matrix proteins and growth factors that are required for cell adhesion. AlgiMatrix™ Matrix contains only alginate which does not facilitate cell adhesion. There is nothing in the alginate sponges for the cells to interact with.

Yes, try a variety of dilutions to coat the plates. Some customers use a 1:100 dilution and have better results. The optimal dilution is cell-line dependent.

Yes, this is normal. It has been observed in product development. Remove the Geltrex™ solution after pre-coating and add cells as normal. H9 human embryonic stem cells have been cultured on dishes pre-coated with Ready-to-Use Geltrex™ Matrix with this observation in the pre-coating procedure. 

AlgiMatrix™ Matrix is stable for 12 months unopened. Once opened, the entire plate needs to be used.

There is virtually no background staining with alginate. The same surface characteristic that prevents cells from adhering also makes it very difficult for molecules such as fluoresceinated antibodies to adhere, thus essentially no background staining is observed.