State-of-the-art cell culture facility comes up at Allahabad University

A state-of-the-art cell culture facility—the only one of its kind in the region— has become operational at the Centre of Biotechnology of Allahabad University (AU).

This specialised cell culture facility has been established at the laboratory of senior scientist Prof Awadh Bihari Yadav of the Centre, said the officials of the central varsity.

The facility is designed for the growth and maintenance of cells in in-vitro. It provides a controlled environment where animal and human cells can be cultured and manipulated for various purposes, including research, drug development, biotechnology, and medical applications, they shared.

The key components of an animal cell culture facility include biosafety cabinets, CO2 incubators, single-cell counters, a centrifugation machine, and a phase contrast inverted microscope. In the past, different animals, such as rats and rabbits, were used in laboratories to test the effects and harmful effects of drugs which would unfortunately often result in the death of animals.

“Additionally, due to strict regulations regarding the use of animals in research, scientists face numerous challenges in developing new tests, and cell culture-based assays have proven to be among the most reliable to overcome this limitation. This well embellished facility will expedite cell culture-based research at the university and foster collaboration with researchers both within and outside the university,” said Prof Yadav.

An animal cell culture facility holds numerous applications in various fields. Initially, this facility will enable us to study the effects of drugs, plant extracts, and nanomaterials on the A549 lung cancer cell line. The harmful effects of drugs, therapeutic molecules, and nanomaterials will be assessed after exposure to the A549 lung cancer cell line, he explained.

Prof Yadav also said that other cell lines could be used to assess the effects and harmful effects in this facility. The applications of this facility are not limited to these uses.

“It can be further expanded as per requirements in the near future in different fields such as biomedical research, drug discovery and development, biotechnology, vaccine development, tissue engineering, and regenerative medicine,” he added.

Overall, cell culture facilities play a critical role in advancing scientific knowledge, developing new therapies and treatments, and facilitating discoveries in various fields of biology, medicine, and biotechnology. He emphasised that the animal cell culture facility will enable accurate testing of drugs and herbal medicine in the laboratory.