Human or animal cells grown in culture (cell lines) are an integral part of health and medical research. They serve as a
model system for the study of cancer and many other diseases and are used in the discovery of new treatments. Without proper handling, cell lines can become contaminated, which can negatively impact any research conducted using those cell lines. For this reason it is critical for Australian researchers to have easy access to high quality, validated cell lines for their research.
CellBank Australia is a not-for-profit organisation operated by Children's Medical Research Institute in Westmead, Sydney and is Australia’s only national cell line repository, providing Australian scientists with ready access to validated cell lines and associated quality control services.
CellBank Australia collects novel cell lines, developed by Australian researchers, submits these cell lines to rigorous testing to confirm their integrity, and then distributes the cell lines to researchers throughout the world.
CellBank Australia also distributes, throughout Australia and New Zealand, cell lines from the European Collection of Authenticated Cell Cultures (ECACC) at Public Health England, a major international cell line repository based in the UK and from the Japanese Collection of Research Bioresources (JCRB), both collections also include many ATCC cell lines. This ensures that a wide range of authenticated cell lines are readily available for use by Australian scientists.
In addition, CellBank Australia offers a variety of cell
line-related services including STR profiling, Mycoplasma testing, Culture and Return, and Secure Storage. It is also part of CellBank’s goals to create awareness of the issues surrounding cell line integrity and contamination and to assist with the education of the Australian scientific community about these matters.
CellBank Australia has International Depository Authority status, under the Budapest Treaty on the International Recognition of the Deposit of Microorganisms for the Purposes of Patent Procedure. This means CellBank Australia is the only site in Australia that can provide secure storage for human and animal cell lines and hybridomas that are the subjects of patent applications.