LiveLight™ Photostable Media
LiveLight™ is a range of cell culture media and supplements that have been reformulated with specific phototoxic components eliminated or replaced. LiveLight cell culture products allow prolonged exposure of cells to light while maintaining high levels of cell viability and functionality.
Experiments with cultured cells, including fluorescence microscopy, optogenetics, FACS and automated cell culture, often entail high levels or prolonged exposure to light. However, cell culture media and supplements contain components that are converted to toxic free radicals by light. In particular, DMEM and Neurobasal® medium, as well as cell culture supplements such as B-27®, SATO and NS21, can lead to significant perturbation of cellular behaviour and marked increases in cell death (see Artifacts of Light, Nature Methods (2013) volume 10 (12) page 1135).
LiveLight reagents now enable intense optogenetic or prolonged live cell imaging experiments to be carried out on a wide range of cell types, including stem cells and neurons without affecting cell viability or function. MEMO®, NEUMO® and SOS® build on the components of known media and supplements, but remove phototoxic components and add key active ingredients. Validated by an independent research group, the reagents can also be used to improve cell survival in FACS, in vitro calcium imaging, and viral transduction.
The LiveLight cell culture system encompasses three different photostable products:
MEMO medium replaces DMEM
NEUMO medium replaces Neurobasal media
SOS supplement replaces B-27 and similar neuronal supplements (e.g. N2, SATO, NS21).
Figure: shining light (470 nm) onto oligodendrocyte precursor cells (OPCs) for optogenetics in standard cell culture media kills almost all cells (left). Using MEMO® and SOS® (right) completely prevents OPC death during exposure to optogenetic blue light.
