WPI Blog

With various options available for treated or untreated cell culture surfaces, how do you choose the right one for your research? From synthetic polycationic coatings like poly-L-lysine to ECM proteins like fibronectin and vitronectin, each surface treatment offers unique benefits tailored to specific cell specific applications and experimental goals. The choice impacts more than just adhesion. It can influence cell viability, behavior, differentiation, and even affect experimental reproducibility.

In this final post of our series, we’ll summarize the five coatings available on WPI’s our FluoroDish™ glass-bottom culture dishes and help you match the right surface to your application.

In small animal veterinary surgery, precision is vital, and success often depends on the smallest details. Whether you're performing a routine spay on a kitten or excising a mass from an elderly retriever, even the smallest instruments can shape a patient’s outcome. Among these, thumb forceps, commonly referred to as tweezers, quietly play a starring role in surgical success.

When your cell culture experiments require more than just adhesion, when you need to guide cell behavior, support differentiation, or mimic in vivo tissue structure, fibronectin could be one of the suitable choices.

Fibronectin is a high-molecular-weight glycoprotein found naturally in the extracellular matrix (ECM), where it plays a vital role in cell signaling, migration, and morphogenesis. In vitro, it supports both structural attachment and biochemical communication through integrin-mediated pathways. In WPI’s 35 mm fibronectin coated FluoroDish™ with a 23 mm glass bottom provides a biologically active microenvironment, perfect for small-format, high-qualityimaging experiments where clarity and precision matter.

In the world of surgical tools and laboratory precision, even subtle design differences can make a big impact. When it comes to surgical scissors, the choice between straight and curved blades is more than a matter of personal preference. It’s about matching the right tool to the right application.

Whether you're performing surface-level dissections, working deep in tissue, or handling delicate anatomical structures, understanding how blade geometry affects visibility, control, and access is essential. In this article, we’ll explore the unique benefits of both straight and curved surgical scissors, outline the applications where each excels, and help you make informed choices for your specific workflow.

Thumb forceps, the pinch-style instruments used in labs, cleanrooms, surgical suites, workshops, and even jewelry studios, are essential precision tools. Whether you’re handling tissue, adjusting tiny components, or manipulating delicate materials, keeping these instruments in top condition is key to both performance and longevity. Here are six tips to keep your thumb forceps in peak condition.

World Precision Instruments (WPI), the global leader in transepithelial electrical resistance (TEER) technology, in collaboration with SynVivo, a leader in organ-on-chip (OOC) solutions, is proud to announce the launch of the EVOMTM Chip – a revolutionary multiplex TEER system designed specifically for real-time, non-destructive monitoring of OOC platforms.

Co-developed to support SynVivo’s state-of-the-art Blood-Brain Barrier (BBB) OOC model, the EVOM™ Chip enables on-chip, multiplex TEER measurements with embedded electrodes. This innovation allows researchers and drug developers to continuously monitor up to 12 OOCs for barrier integrity while simultaneously enabling fluidics and imaging, offering hands-free operation with enhanced accuracy, precision, and reproducibility.

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.

When working with gas-tight NanoFil™ syringes, especially in applications involving viral vectors or delicate biological samples, priming your syringe correctly is essential to ensure reliable and accurate sample delivery. Even microscopic air pockets can lead to inconsistent dosing or air injection, which can be detrimental in high-precision workflows. Here's a step-by-step guide to priming your NanoFil™ syringe system effectively.

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.

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.

At WPI, we know precision and ease of use matter, especially when you're handling microinjections at the smallest scales. That’s why we’ve created a quick unboxing and setup guide to help you hit the ground running with your new NanoFil™ gas-tight syringe system.

Whether you're new to NanoFil™ or just want a refresher on what's included and how to get started, this article walks you through everything you need to know.

In barrier model research, the integrity of your cell monolayers isn’t just important—it’s everything. Whether you're studying epithelial transport, drug permeability, or disease modeling, your ability to trust your data hinges on the health of your cultures. That’s why so many researchers rely on Transendothelial/Transepithelial Electrical Resistance (TEER) as a simple, non-invasive, real-time quantitative evaluation of the integrity of your cellular barrier.

Transepithelial/Transendothelial Electrical Resistance (TEER) is a widely used quantitative technique to assess the integrity of tight junctions in cell monolayers. WPI’s EVOM™ is the gold standard for TEER measurement and is particularly valuable in studies involving drug transport, toxicology, inflammation, and organ-on-chip systems. TEER measurement provides fast and quantitative data and can be used as an efficient and cost-effective method for drug discovery and development.  There are certain biological and technical factors that are known to affect TEER readings. This article reviews the key variables that influence TEER outcomes in cell culture studies and how to ensure consistent TEER measurement analysis can be done by minimizing or eliminating the effects of these factors.

Whether you're conducting patch-clamp recordings, microinjections, or other high-precision tasks under a microscope, the right micromanipulator can make all the difference. At WPI, we offer a full range of manual and motorized micromanipulators designed to support both routine lab work and complex experimental setups. But which one is the best fit for your needs? Here’s a closer look at the key differences, features, and benefits of each.

WPI’s NanoFil™ Gas-Tight syringe offers the ultimate precision for sensitive tissue, particularly for ophthalmic-specific applications. The injection system boasts zero dead volume in the terminal between the interchangeable needle and plunger— creating a truly gas-tight system once primed. NanoFil™ needles are offered in blunt or beveled styles down to 36G, the smallest commercially available gauge on the market.

In traditional hanging-insert workflows, media changes are a slow, manual bottleneck. Researchers must lift each insert—often with tweezers—to access the narrow gap between insert and well for pipetting or aspiration. This labor-intensive step not only adds time and variability but also risks disturbing delicate cellular layers. Now, WPI’s 24-Well Auto Exchange Cell Culture Plate fundamentally reshapes this workflow by combining smart well geometry, integrated fluidics, and robust insert seating to enable fully automated, multichannel TEER measurement on the EVOM™ Auto—and to simplify every step of media exchange and sampling, whether done by hand or robot. It enables seamless media exchange and multichannel TEER measurements without ever lifting an insert.

Precision and control are vital in ophthalmic procedures, and having the right surgical scissors makes all the difference. WPI offers a large variety of high-performance scissors specifically suited for the demands of eye surgery and laboratory microdissection work. Here's a quick guide to some of the most commonly used types of ophthalmic scissors.