Hammond Cell Tech

Hammond Cell Tech manufactures specialty cell culture reagents for the research and biotech community. Our company, located in Healdsburg, California was founded in 1988 by Susan Hammond.

Hammond Cell Tech manufactures Bovine Pituitary Extract and whole Bovine Brain Extract only from New Zealand raised and slaughtered cattle. We no longer use US sourced tissue because there have been several instances where cattle raised in the US were found to have BSA. In contrast New Zealand has never had an incidence of BSA. The cattle we source our tissues from have all passed ante- and post-mortem inspection. Full documentation as to sourcing is available including New Zealand certificates of health and USDA Importation licenses. Note that all New Zealand material is carefully handled so that it never comes into contact with animal tissue from the US or elsewhere nor is our processing equipment or glassware used for tissue of other than New Zealand origin.

Bovine pituitary glands and brains are only obtained from young, healthy animals (18 to 22 mo.) whose meat has been certified for human consumption having passed ante- and post-mortem inspection by the New Zealand or US Department of Agriculture, respectively. Unlike other sources, Hammond Cell Tech, does not use any material from rendering plants where diseased and older cattle are processed. Because our tissue sources are young, healthy animals, our extracts have a full spectrum of mitogens and differentiation factors. We continue to process the flash-frozen tissue according to original protocols developed in the lab of Dr. Richard Ham. Hammond Cell Tech does not lyophilize the extract; lyophilization has been shown to reduce the spectrum of biological activity. Instead, Hammond Cell Tech ships the extract frozen on dry ice. Note that stability tests have shown that aliquots stored at -20oC are stable for a minimum of a year.

Over the twenty years Hammond Cell Tech has been providing this extract, our customers have come to depend on the consistency and reliability of our products, the thoroughness of our documentation as well as the technical service we provide.

Both the BPE and BBE products are aqueous extracts. The BPE is formulated at 14 mg/ml crude protein. Growth tests on human mammary, prostatic, bronchial and corneal epithelial cells as well as epidermal keratinocytes and melanocytes indicate an optimal concentration range of 35 mg/ml for clonal growth and 70 mg/ml for dense monolayers (2.5/ L and 5 ml/ L respectively). If an optimized basal medium such as MCDB 170 or MCDB 154 ( (See reference #4) is used, excellent clonal outgrowth can be achieved with as little as 7 mg/ml.

Our BBE is formulated to be used at 0.1-0.2% in the final serum-free medium (MCDB 131 is recommended for endothelial cells). Studies have shown this level to fully replace ECGS (from other vendors) at the standard 7.5-15 micrograms/ ml. In addition BBE allows culture of these cells without feeder layers.

Please note that an optimized serum-free medium with proper hormone and trace element supplementation is required to ensure the best results. Below you will find original and recent references to aid you in deriving the best system for your use. Please note that because this is a complex mixture of factors, different cell types may require unique levels especially when using alternative basal media and supplements. A simple growth assay titrating the BPE or BBE in your system is the most effective way to determine the optimal level for your use. In addition, relative levels of these extracts relative to the other hormones and growth factors can be an effective means of turning on and off differentiated behavior in many cell types.