Choosing the Right Culture Dish Coating

WPI’s FluoroDish™ cell culture dishes are optimally designed for a wide variety of cell culture and embryology experiments including high resolution imaging, live cell imaging, electrophysiological recordings of fluorescently tagged cells, and microinjection.  FluoroDish™ cell culture dishes are far better than standard petri dishes, because they are designed with optical quality glass bottoms, which offer superior imaging using the latest microscopy technology. WPI’s FluoroDishes™ have been cited in over 550 peer-reviewed publications by cell culture laboratories across the world.

Get the highest quality images and video for your research with FluoroDish Cell Culture dishes. Their optical quality glass bottom is as thin as a coverslip, which ensures the least amount of distortions and excellent heat transfer without any of the autofluoresence issues so common with plastic petri dishes.  

Choose the style that suits your application. For live cell imaging, embryo research, and life science researchers working with small sample volumes, the 35mm Fluorodish petri dish with a 10mm well (FD3510) is ideal. Researchers working with expensive chemicals or experimental drugs choose the FD3510. They are also an excellent choice for microinjection applications, because they are designed with the lowest access angle for easier insertion of a micropipette during cellular microinjection. Fluorodishes are also available in 35mm (FD35) or 50mm (FD5040) sizes for cell culturing applications. For better adhesion of neurons, try the 35mm Fluorodish that is coated with poly-D-lysine (FD35PDL).

Petri cell culture dishes like WPI’s FluoroDishes™ are commonly used in laboratories, but they require precision and care to ensure the accurate results of your work. Let’s look at several common mistakes made with cell culture dishes and how you can avoid them.

Whether you're culturing bacteria, working with stem cells, or imaging live cells or embryos, attention to detail with Petri dishes can make or break your results. Use this quick checklist to avoid common mistakes and maintain best practices in the lab.

In any successful cell culture experiment, the story starts at the surface. Whether you're working with primary neurons, stem cells, or epithelial monolayers, anchorage-dependent cells rely on the substrate beneath them to survive, adhere, and thrive. The chemical and biological cues provided by the surface can dramatically influence cell morphology, proliferation, differentiation, and even gene expression.

That’s why surface coatings on cell culture dishes plays a critical role in mammalian cell culture-based research. From naturally derived proteins like collagen, fibronectin, and vitronectin to synthetic compounds such as poly-D-lysine (PDL) and poly-L-lysine (PLL), these treatments transform plain cultureware into biologically active environments. The right coating not only supports attachment, but it can help to maintain normal cellular morphology and guide the cell fate. Anchorage dependent cells, when unable to find appropriate surface to adhere to, can undergo programmed or unprogrammed cell death.  

At WPI, we apply these specialized surface treatments to our FluoroDish™ glass-bottom culture dishes which are designed for high-quality imaging and precision cell work.

In the world of cell culture, the substrate matters. For many anchorage-dependent cells, simply providing a surface isn’t enough. These cells need biological cues that replicate the natural environment of the body to adhere and grow properly.  That’s why surface coating of the substrate plays a vital role in the in vitro cell culture for biomimicry in vivo conditions.