Cell Immortalization Service

With over 10 years of experience in immortalizing cell lines, our scientists at abm have successfully immortalized nearly every human, mouse and rat cell type.

Our risk-free service offers the quickest and most reliable tool for your project, saving you the time and money that would be spent optimizing a protocol on your own. If we cannot immortalize your primary cells, there is no charge. *

We offer the largest selection of immortalization reagents to choose from. If you’re not sure what might be right for your project, let our team of experts select the right reagents for your project. Simply send us your primary cells and we will take care of the rest!
Our outstanding QC includes confirming that the immortalized cells can be passaged for at least 30 passages.
Have other species of interest? We have worked with bovine, chicken, spider, koala, and many other species!

Ready to start your own immortalization project? Contact one of our support specialists and find out how you can qualify for a special credit on your order!

Additional Resources:

"abm has always been very helpful with technical assistance in any of our questions and concerns. I also consider the price for the services provided as very competitive, as other companies charge a multiple of abm's price."

Dr. Cameron Moshfegh, ETH Zurich

Service Details

Core Services

Our Basic Package (C195) Includes	Deliverables	Lead Time
Viral transduction on primary cells submitted Cell immortalization qPCR to confirm transgene expression Passaging QC to confirm cells can be propagated for ≥20 passages Expansion & Cryopreservation and delivery of cells	1 vial of cryopreserved cells Any applicable add-ons Service report includes: Morphology Assessment Test results for the presence/absence of microbial contaminants, including bacterial, and fungal testing	around 2-3 months

Add-On Services

Service Name	Size	CAT. NO.	PRICE
Gene Expression Assay Service^	1 Marker	C138	$165.00
Additional Vials of Delivered Cells^^	1 Vial	C144	$300.00
Cell Line Authentication: Human STR Profiling service^^^	1 Sample	C287	$195.00

^A Custom RNA Isolation Service will apply (Cat# C207, $450); up to 4 markers can be tested per RNA extraction service.
^^Additional media or supplements may be required. For for-profit organizations and corporations, the price is 1.5 times the list price.
^^^For STR Profiling of 1 Primary Human Cell Sample & 1 Immortalied Human Cell Line sample, please order 2 x C287. Please inquire for other species.
* Cells provided by customer must be mycoplasma-negative at the time of submission.
** A deposit and MTA is required to initiate all Cell Immortalization projects

Additional Info

How to Order

Follow these steps to order an immortalization service:

To obtain a quote, please fill out the service questionnaire and submit to quotes@abmgood.com.
Place an order and specify the quote number during order placement.

Note that samples that are received without an order confirmation number indicated will be disposed of immediately upon receipt to ensure that all customer information is held in strict confidence.
Once you have received an order confirmation number, please set up shipment and submit:
1. Cells: At least 2x10⁶ cells/cell line along with passage number. You may also select any of the primary cells in our catalog.
2. Complete Cell Culture Protocol
3. What Antibiotic Resistance Markers Do Your Cells Have? Our vectors have puromycin resistance by default.
4. Media: All necessary media components, including any applicable FBS, growth factors, etc. required for culturing (abm will only provide DMEM and RPMI). Please submit all components of the complete media individually. Also include instructions for making the complete media. Volume requirement: ≥1 L of complete media.
5. Flasks: ≥5x coated 6-well plates & 10x T25 flasks if the cells require specially-treated vessels.
6. Morphology of Cells: Please supply an image of the cells growing in culture to depict 'original' cell morphology prior to shipment.
abm will confirm cell morphology, immortalize your cells, and perform QC.

Disclaimer & MTA

Orders of this service are subjected to the completion of a signed Material Transfer Agreement (MTA) by the purchasing individual/institution for each order. If you have any questions regarding this, please contact us at technical@abmgood.com. The end user acknowledges that the Materials provided under abm’s MTA does not grant a license for commercial use or imply any ownership rights or any intellectual property rights relating to the Materials.

*A non-refundable deposit is required to initiate the service.

Documents

FAQs

How do I send my cells and place an order? and What will I be receiving?

For frozen cells, you must ship in ample dry ice and each vial must contain 2 million cells. Another method is to send us live cells. If the cells are fast growing, we recommend sending three T25 flasks at 70% density. If the cells are slow growing, we recommend sending two T25 flasks at 90% density. The flask should be filled with complete medium without any air bubble and at room temperature. The flask can be filled with medium using a 50ml culture tube. Make sure that sterilization procedure is strictly observed. For North American customers, the cells should be sent on Monday. For non-North American customers, the cells should be sent on Friday or Monday to avoid transit delay over the weekend. Please note that the cells are immortalized in the condition that they were received and we cannot be liable for any changes during transit. We ask that customers supply a picture of your primary cells growing in culture to depict 'original' cell morphology when setting up shipment. This is to help us assess the cells we receive are in good condition before we start the immortalization project.

If your cells require medium other than DMEM and RPMI, we will also require 1L of the specified medium and any applicable growth factors or supplements to be provided by you for the project. Please submit all components of the complete media (e.g. if growth factors, cytokines etc. are applicable) individually to eliminate potential degradation of components in the media during transit. Kindly include instructions for making the complete media in your shipment. Additionally, please provide at least 5 x coated 6-well plates and 10 x T25 flasks if the cells require specially treated culture vessels. Once you have shipped your cells, please forward us the tracking number for custom clearance. Information on how to ship cell samples to abm can be found on our support page: https://www.abmgood.com/Technical-Support.html

Once we receive the cells, we will performed custom cell immortalization in 6-well plates with various cell immortalization reagents, such as but not limited to, SV40 T antigen, hTERT, Myc, E6/E7.

We will make sure the cells are immortalized and have the ability to grow forever. The final product to be shipped to you will be one vial of cells that have been successfully immortalized.

Can I purchase immortalized human neurons? I don't have primary neurons, but rather you can provide both the primary cell and the immortalization service?

Yes, we will be able to try to immortalize those cells for you. Please let us know your specific requirement and we will send you an official quotation.

How many cells do I need to send in order to immortalize one cell line?

What should I do if my cells do not grow using standard media?

If your cells do not grow using DMEM or RPMI, then we need at least 1L of your growth media plus additional amounts of associated growth factors.

What kinds of methods are you going to take to demonstrate the lentivirus-infected cells are immortalized and whether the cells characteristics are changed after immortalization?

Usually if the immortalized cells can be passaged beyond the normal number of passages in comparison to the primary cells, that is a confirmation of immortalization.

The cells will be passaged 20+ beyond the normal stage of senescence to confirm immortalization. We closely monitor typical cell behavior including growth rate and morphology; however, all downstream characterization must be determined by the end user. We do not conduct gene expression assays as part of this service. Please note there may be sometimes changes in any markers or morphology due to immortalization and we do not claim that all or any specific markers be retained after immortalization.

Citations

Lee, Y., Berríos-Vázquez, G., Maes, R. K., Kiupel, M., Desmarets, L. M. B., Nauwynck, H. J., & Soboll Hussey, G. (2023). Development of immortalized feline respiratory epithelial cells in an air-liquid-interface culture system for feline herpesvirus-1 study. Virus research, 326, 199063. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.virusres.2023.199063