Last Passage on Cells

Author: Gavin Mussino | Major: Biology | Semester: Spring 2023

My name is Gavin Mussino, and I am currently pursuing a Biology major at the Fullbright College of Arts and Sciences. During the spring semester of 2023, I had the opportunity to collaborate with graduate student Justin Putman in Dr. Jorge Almodovar’s chemical engineering lab. My focus was investigating the longevity and durability of coatings. Additionally, comparing cells with layers compared to cells without. To demonstrate this, I prepared the layers, introduced cells, and allowed them to grow over a specific duration. Subsequently, I performed trypsinization to detach the cells and then reseeded them for another cycle. By conducting these experiments, my aim was to enhance our comprehension of cell coatings and their effectiveness in cell therapy, which involves utilizing human cells to replace or repair damaged tissues.

I ended up choosing this topic because I knew that I enjoyed cell work and was inspired to make a difference in cell research. I found my research mentor Dr. Almodoar after working for a short period in Dr. Shannon Servoss’s lab. In Dr. Servoss’s lab, I learned the basics of working in a lab and she ended up referring me based on my interests. After learning the processes of making and changing media, passaging cells, and cell staining, I became hooked on studying cell coatings and making a difference in cell therapy. I have primarily worked with Justin Putman over the majority of the spring semester. He has been of great assistance in my research. He has provided me with advice and helped me explain the results of my experiments.

I began my experiment on February 21, 2023. I performed the Layer-by-layer method on passage 4 cells. I changed the cell media two times and performed passage 5 for the cells over 8 days. I changed the cell media three times and performed passage 6 for the cells over 12 days. I ended the experiment with 8 containers of cells. 2 samples with layer-by-layer, 2 samples without layer-by-layer,, 2 samples passaged from the layer-by-layer container, and 2 samples passaged from the without a layer-by-layer container. I found that passaging cells into a new container and having the layer-by-layer coating is beneficial to cell growth and led to a higher probability of survival.

Let’s talk about some of the challenges I ran into. One issue I ran into with my experiment was during the snow days. On January 20, 2023, I started an experiment by making solutions for Layer-by-layer. I ended up changing cell media two times but then I was unable to come into the labs because of the snow. The lab ended up having to throw away most cells after the snow days and I had to redo the whole process in February.

The future plans I have are to do one more quick experiment and fix some of the issues made. I didn’t wash after putting cells back in during passaging with Trypsin. Leftover trypsin could have affected results. I also had some issues with staying organized with the flasks. I plan to repeat the experiment with well plates. This could be a little easier to keep track of and a lot less area on a plate than a flask.