Cultured stem cells are vulnerable to contamination by adventitious organisms, such as bacteria, virus and mycoplasma. Once cell lines are infected, they may undergo spontaneous differentiation or altered function due to adaptation, which may have a profound impact on experimental results. Stem cell laboratories are encouraged to monitor their stem cell cultures.

The TaqMan® Real-Time PCR system is a simple and highly sensitive method for detecting specific microorganisms in cell lysate. Compared to traditional methods, such as enzymatic activity or turbidity, TaqMan assays offers several advantages, including:

• Sequence-specific PCR primers and probes ensures greater discrimination in detecting target pathogens in complex biological samples.
• Simplified workflow with one standard protocol for multiple organisms.
• Highly sensitive to detect down to 1 colony-forming unit .
• Rapid turnaround time with results in less than 4 hours.

Coming Soon! Applied Biosystems is actively collaborating with thoughtleaders in the stem cell community to design and validate a set of detection assays for the most common contaminants. Please check back for the latest new product information.

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