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WELLBAG - Spheroid Culture Bag

Culturing a large number of uniform size of spheroids / Closed-System 3D Culture Bags

Limited Quantity Special Promotion!  

Buying 5 WELLBAGs (Product#: 11000-05 or #11020-05), you will get a dedicated holder free of charge. Please click the link below for more information.: WELLBAG Promotion

WELLBAG is a culture bag specially designed to culture spheroids uniformly in large quantities and to recover formed spheroids quite easily for various cells including iPS cells, which are used in regenerative medicine etc. This product is used by attaching to a dedicated holder. WELLBAG-S500 has 18,000 microwells with a well diameter of 500um.

Features
  • Mass culture of uniformaly  size of spheroids
  • Closed system prevents contamination
  • Easy collection of spheroids
  • A dedicated holder prevents the movement of spheroids among microwells
  • Three types available 

Mass culture of uniformly sized spheroids

Fine and uniform microwells are processed on the bottom surface of the WELLBAG with a non-cell-adhesive coating, while the top surface of the WELLBAG has an overhang part. When the cell suspension is injected into the bag through the injection port, it distributs almost early evenly throughout the bag. After letting it sit, each microwell contains approximately the same number of cells, resulting in uniform spheroid sizes forming in each microwell.

*The image shown is based on the WELLBAG-S500, which has a cell diameter of 500 µm. The WELLBAG-S350 and L-350 have a diameter of 350 µm..*

 

 

Provide optimal spheroid culture condition

1) WELLBAG is a closed bag system which reduces the contamination risk of bacteria and foreign substances 

2) Efficient gas exchange due to high gas permeability film

3) Easy collection of spheroids after the culture: Turn the bag upside down to drop the formed spheroids, and then collect the spheroids with a syringe.

4) The necessary high safety levels for cell culture have been achieved. (Safety standards according to the Japanese Pharmacopoeia)

  • Cytotoxicity test Confirmed
  • Leachable test Confirmed
  • Ashing test Confirmed
  • Endotoxin test Less than 0.25EU/mL
  • Sterility Radiation Sterilization

WELLBAG-S350 vs S500 vs L350

WELLBAG-S500 has 18,000 microwells with a well diameter of 500um, while WELLBAG-S350 has 32,000 microwells with a well diameter of 350um. Both bags has the same size, allowing the use of the same dedicated holder.

WELLBAG-L350 is a scale-up product from the WELLBAG-S series products. It has 20 times culture area of WELLBAG-S series. The number of wells is about 36 times that of S500 and about 20 times that of S350. The bag is A3 size and it can be placed in a standard type incubator with a dedicated holder

 Name WELLBAG-S350 WELLBAG-S500 WELLBAG-S870 WELLBAG-S1260 WELLBAG-L350
Well Diameter 350 µm 500 µm  870 µm 1260 µm  500 µm
Number of Wells  ca. 32,000 ca. 18,000 ca. 6,300 ca. 3,100 ca. 650,000 
Well diameter appearance

Stamped with 32K

Stamped with 18 K

Stamped with 6.3 K

Stamped with 3.1 K

 
Well cross-section  
Air bubble removal method Incubation Method Manual Method & Incubation Method Incubation Method
Outer dimensions 72 mm x 120 mm 292 × 412 mm
Material Polyethylene with non-cell adhesion coating
Culture Area 50 cm2 1,000 cm² 
Medium volume 10-20 mL  400 mL
Cat. No. 11020-05(5 bags)
11020-10(10 bags)
11020-00(100 bags)
11000-05(5 bags)
11000-10(10 bags)
11000-00(100 bags)
 11040-05(5 bags)
11040-10(10 bags)
11040-00(100 bags)
 11060-05(5 bags)
11060-10(10 bags)
11060-00(100 bags)
11020-01 (1 bag)
11020-05 (5 bags)

 To help differentiate between WELLBAG-S350 and S500, the WELLBAG-S350 is marked with "32K" on the seal of the bag.

High operability using a dedicated holder

By attaching the WELLBAG to a dedicated holder, the movement of spheroids between wells is suppressed and portability becomes possible. Parts of the base plate and holding plate are transparent, allowing microscopic observation while attached.

  Holder for WELLBAG-S500 and WELLBAG-S350 Holder for WELLBAG-L350 
Size  W: 128mm, D: 86mm, H: 20mm W:423mm、D:294mm、H:41mm
Weight  300 g 3.8 kg
Materials Aluminum, Glass, Stainless steel, Polycarbonate, Neodymiun magnet Aluminum, Tempered Glass, Stainless steel, Polycarbonate, others

Holder for WELLBAG-S500 and WELLBAG-S350

Holder for WELLBAG-L350

 

Operation Overview Video

 WELLBAG-S500 Operation Overview Video

 

 

WELLBAG-L350 (large size) Operation Video

 

WELLBAG System Operation Video

FAQ

WELLBAG
Q1: Waht is made of WELLBAG?
A1: It is made of a high-gas-permeability grade of polyethylene.
 
Q2: Can the WELLBAG be used repeatedly?
A2: It is recommended for one-time use.
 
Q3: Can I use the WELLBAG without the dedicated holder?
A3: Because of the WELLBAG is a soft type culture bag, it is necessary to use it together with the dedicated holder to prevent the movement of spheroids among microwells.
 
Q4: Can the holder be autoclave sterilized?
A4: No, it is not compatible with autoclave sterilization. We recommend disinfection with alcohol, hydrogen peroxide solution, or similar agents.
 
Q5: Can the WELLBAG be used for medium exchange?
A5: No, it cannot. If medium exchange is required, we recommend using the cell culture system.
 
Q6: What is the difference between WELLBAG-S350 and WELLBAG-S500?
A6: The well diameter of WELLBAG-S500 is 500 μm and the number of wells is approximately 18,000, while the well diameter of WELLBAG-S350 is 350 μm and the number of wells is approximately 32,000. Please note that the number of seeded cells per well and the number of cells required are different. Since WELLBAG-350 has a small well diameter, we recommend using the incubation method to remove air bubbles. The dedicated holder for the WELLBAG-S350 works with WELLBAG-S500.
 
Q7: What type of cells have been successfully cultured?
A7: The cell types for which spheroid formation has currently been confirmed are listed below. We have confirmed that cancer cells generally thought to have weak cell-cell adhesion (aggregation) properties, such as HepG2 cells, can also form cancer spheroids. This information is updated as needed, but please feel free to contact us even about cells that are not listed.
  • iPS cells (derived from human peripheral blood cells)
  • hMSC-BM cells (human bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stromal cells)
  • Islet-like cells derived from iPS cells
  • HepG2 cells (a cell line derived from human hepatocellular carcinoma)
  • CHO-K1 cells (cells derived from Chinese hamster ovary)
Q7: How can I make spheroids of the desired size?
A7: Adjust the number of seeded cells per well according to the target spheroid diameter. Below is an example using MSC cells. The figure shows spheroid formation when cells were seeded into WELLBAG-S500 at 50, 100, and 300 cells/well. Uniform spheroid formation was confirmed in all wells, and round spheroids were formed within each well. Please also refer to the application data. Note that the conditions vary depending on the cell type and culture conditions.
Culture conditions
For hMSC-BM spheroid formation, human bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stromal cells (hMSC-BM, PromoCell) were seeded at 50, 100, and 300 cells/well and cultured for 2 days using 20 mL of Cellartis® MSC Xeno-Free Culture Medium (+ supplement, Takara Bio Inc.) and WELLBAG-S500.hMSC-BM spheroid formation (50, 100, 300 cells/well)
Q8: Waht are the minumum and maximum seeding densities for seedin into WELLBAG?
A8: In studies using iPS cells, we have confirmed that seeding is possible from approximately 50 cells/well in general, up to approximately 500 cells/well with S500 and approximately 1,500 cells/well with S1260. 
However, if the seeding density is too high, spheroids tend not to form properly.
Please use these values only as reference, as results vary depending on the cell condition and cell type.
 
Q9: Please tell me the washing procedure after collecting spheroilds. 
A9: In principle, centrifugation causes spheroids to come into close contact with one another, making them more likely to aggregate. In addition, during resuspension by pipetting after centrifugation, some spheroids may be disrupted. Therefore, transfer the spheroid suspension into a tube, allow it to settle naturally, gently remove the supernatant, and then wash by adding a washing solution such as PBS.
When removing the supernatant by natural sedimentation, large spheroids (approximately 200 μm or larger) will settle in less than one minute, whereas smaller spheroids may take more than 3 minutes.
If centrifugation must be used, we recommend gentle conditions such as 80 g for approximately 30 seconds.
 
Q10: The spherolds are not turning out uniformaly. What should I do?
A10: If there are differences in the medium, holder, or working temperature while the cells are settling, thermal convection may occur inside the bag, which can cause non-uniformity. Therefore, we recommend equalizing the temperature of the medium, holder, and working environment to either room temperature or 37°C before allowing the cells to settle. For example, if you are working at room temperature, we recommend bringing the medium and holder to room temperature in advance, placing the bag in the holder after seeding, and leaving it at room temperature for about 5–10 minutes to allow the cells to settle before returning it to the incubator.
 
Q11: What is the shelf life of  WELLBAG?
A11: Three years from the date of manufacture.

References

Ordering Information

Product Storage Cat.No. PKG Size Price  
WELLBAG-S350, 50 cm2, ca. 32,000 wells Room Temp. 11020-05 5 pieces 877.00
Buy
WELLBAG-S350, 50 cm2, ca. 32,000 wells Room Temp. 11020-10 10 pieces 1,755.00
Buy
WELLBAG-S350, 50 cm2, ca. 32,000 wells Room Temp. 11020-00 100 pieces 17,550.00
Buy
WELLBAG-S500, 50 cm2, ca. 18,000 wells Room Temp. 11000-05 5 pieces 803.00
Buy
WELLBAG-S500, 50 cm2, ca. 18,000 wells Room Temp. 11000-10 10 pieces 1,604.00
Buy
WELLBAG-S500, 50 cm2, ca. 18,000 wells Room Temp. 11000-00 100 pieces 16,045.00
Buy
WELLBAG-S870 *** Coming soon! *** Room Temp. 11040-05 5 pieces 877.00
Buy
WELLBAG-S870 *** Coming soon! *** Room Temp. 11040-10 10 pieces 1,755.00
Buy
WELLBAG-S1260 *** Coming soon! *** Room Temp. 11060-05 5 pieces 877.00
Buy
WELLBAG-S1260 *** Coming soon! *** Room Temp. 11060-10 10 pieces 1,755.00
Buy
WELLBAG-L350, 1,000 cm2, ca. 650,000 wells Room Temp. 12000-01 1 piece - Inquire
WELLBAG-L350, 1,000 cm2, ca. 650,000 wells Room Temp. 12000-05 5 pieces - Inquire
WELLBAG Holder
Product Storage Cat.No. PKG Size Price  
WELLBAG Holder Room Temp. 61000-01 1 ea 602.00
Buy
WELLBAG Holder (for WELLBAG-L350) Room Temp. 62000-01 1 ea - Inquire

The shipping method is FedEx Ground or equivalent service.