Module

Voraussetzungen

Inhalte

• Sterile working technique, media preparation • Routine maintenance of cell lines: Medium replacement, subculture of adherend and suspension cells, cell counting, cryopreservation, contamination control (microscopical observation, mycoplasma screening) • Cultivation of cells in monolayer (2D) and engineering of in vitro tissues of different cell types (3D-cell culture systems; spheroids) • Application of special test systems to monitor proliferation, viability, and toxicity in monolayer cells • Analyses of morphology of cells in 2D- and 3D (preparation of cryosections of spheroids, histological analyses) • Working with different microscopic techniques: Phase contrast microscopy (basis “life cell” analyses), brightfield microscopy, fluorescence microscopy

Lernziele

• After completing the module, the students will be able to present the current literature on a research area in a summarized form. By presenting and discussing their results from the laboratory course they are able to critically question research results. In the practical course, students have to work on sophisticated projects which need competences such as teamwork, organized project planning (project management) and analytical abilities • Acquire theoretical knowledge and practical experience in basic principles of cell culture techniques. • Get familiar with the morpholgy, physiology and way to work with different animal and human cell lines. • Generate awareness for the use of cells in culture (advantages and limitations). • Understand the principles as well as application of cell biological methods to characterise the main parameters of cell behaviour like proliferation, differentiation, and viability. • Engineering artificial tissues (3D-culture) using cell lines. Discriminate the special features of cells cultured in 3D and cells growing as a monolayer in a culture flask (2D-culture). • Applying advanced techniques of cell biological methods to characterise the main parameters of cell behaviour like proliferation, viability, toxicity, and differentiation. • Advanced knowledge and experience in microscopical techniques (Phase contrast, brightfield, fluorescence)

Prüfungsleistung

• Lab work: 4 experiments, performance, critical evaluation of data, time management (25%) • Presentation (10 min) and discussion (5 min) in the seminar, duration depends on the topic (25%) • Protocol: Introduction, Methods, Results and Discussion, 10-15 pages (25%) • Written exam, duration: 45 min (25%)

Bemerkungen

The module takes place as a 6 week block course.