Kevin L. Vedvik, MSc, Sr. Staff Scientist, Thermo Fisher Scientific
Jessica A. Bonzo, PhD, Staff Scientist, Thermo Fisher Scientific
Rafal P. Witek, PhD, MBA, Sr. Staff Scientist, Thermo Fisher Scientific
Thermo Fisher Scientific is the world leader in servicing science and our mission is to enable our customers to make the world healthier, cleaner and safer. One of the tool platforms that Thermo Fisher Scientific provides to the scientific community is primary hepatocytes; cells isolated from liver tissue. These cells are used to explore and understand drug metabolism, drug-drug interactions, and toxicity. Since these cells do not proliferate, they typically only live in vitro for 5-7 days, which severely limits the experimental time available to the researcher. To address this problem, the team set out to develop a medium that would extend the amount of time hepatocytes can survive in culture while maintaining their functionality. The team leveraged JMP® Statistical Discovery Software to gain insight into which potential factors were critical to extend hepatocyte functionality. Measurement systems analysis was used to determine what types of measurement would give the most robust results for use in the investigation. Leveraging the efficiency of a Plackett-Burman design and Custom DOE the medium was optimized. The use of the tools available in JMP® Statistical Discovery Software assists the Thermo Fisher Scientific team in developing robust reagent systems to enable our customers to be successful.
