Juvenile chondrocyte cells are harvested from the articular surface of cadaveric donor tissue and expanded in vitro.
A cell suspension is created and inoculated in culture flasks containing expansion medium (chemically-defined complete serum-free medium containing gentamicin, L-glutamine, growth factors, and L-ascorbate). Fresh medium is added every 3–4 days, and the cells are harvested after 2 passages, yielding approximately 8 population doublings. Chondrocytes are washed and counted before cryopreservation in a controlled rate freezer at a density of 5 × 107 cells/ml.
EMBRYONIC DEVELOPMENT & STEM CELL COMPENDIUM
