History of the Animal Cell Culture
1878
Animal Cell Culture began. Claude Bernard, a scientist, introduced the concept of maintaining living tissues in an artificial environment (in vitro) instead of inside the organism (in vivo).
1885
Scientists successfully cultured embryonic chick cells in a saline solution, marking an early attempt at maintaining cells outside the body.
1897
It was discovered that animal cells require serum for growth. Adding serum to the culture media significantly increased the survivability of animal cells.
1903
Observed cell division for the first time during the in vitro process, showing that cells could not only survive but also multiply outside the body.
1907
Ross Harrison, known as the Father of Cell Culture, successfully demonstrated in vitro cell division.
His Experiment: He created a slide with a well, added frog nerve tissue along with media, and observed that the animal cells continued to grow for several weeks.
1913
The Aseptic Technique was developed, which involves methods to prevent contamination by microorganisms, ensuring that the cell culture remains pure and uncontaminated.
1916
The enzyme trypsin was introduced to animal cell culture. Trypsin is used for proteolysis, which is the breakdown of proteins, aiding in the dissociation of cells from tissues.
1923
The T-Flask was produced for animal cell culture.
T-Flask: A culture vessel used for growing animal cells or cell cultures in the laboratory.
1940
Antibiotics were incorporated into animal cell culture media, which greatly minimised microbial contamination. This combination of serum, antibiotics, and media became a standard in cell culture practices.
Establishment of Continuous Cell Lines
1951: The HeLa cell line, derived from cervical cancer cells taken from Henrietta Lacks, became the first immortal human cell line and has been used extensively in research.
Modern Developments
Continuous improvements in media formulations, bioreactor designs, and process control strategies have optimized cell growth and productivity.
The field of 3D cell culture and organoids has also seen significant progress, aiming to better mimic natural cellular environments.
Animal cell culture has become a crucial tool in various fields, including vaccine production, drug screening, disease modeling, and regenerative medicine.