It is important to deposit cell lines in a cell bank for several reasons. Repositories around the world store their cultures under optimal conditions, ensuring their survival and utility for the entire research community. They also perform in-depth quality control to ensure that cells are suitable for use in research. Unfortunately, contamination of cultures with Mycoplasma and cross-contamination with other cell lines remain ongoing problems for the research community.
Cultures in the CellBank Australia collection are assessed, preserved, and made available to scientists on request. We welcome deposits from any laboratory which has developed cell lines for their research that are of interest to others. Depositors are able to access their own cells at any time at reduced rates, and use of their cells is restricted to research applications only. Under the terms of agreements made at the time of purchase, cells cannot be used in humans and may not be accessed for commercial purposes without the consent of the depositor.
What's involved
To make a deposit, you first need to fill out a Deposit Query.This allows us to look at the features of the cell line to see if it is appropriate for deposit e.g. cultures can only be accepted at PC1 and PC2 level. Cell lines that are suitable for deposit need two more forms to be completed before they can be shipped to us. Firstly, the Accession form gives us more information on the cells and how they are grown. Secondly, the Material Deposit Agreement sets out the terms on which the cells are sent to us and needs to be signed before cells can be shipped.
Once these forms have been filled out we can make arrangements for shipment of the cell line. Please do not send cultures without first arranging for shipment with staff at CellBank Australia. If we know that cultures are in transit we will be able to track their progress and prepare for their arrival more effectively.
A more detailed FAQ for depositors and copies of the forms used in this process are available for download. Please also contact us to discuss deposits directly. |