What do you recommend as the best method for harvesting spheroids from Matrigel matrix?

Answer

Corning Dispase or Corning cell recovery solution is recommended for recovering cells cultured on Corning Matrigel matrix. The Dispase enzyme will yield a single cell suspension more gently and effectively than trypsin, collagenase, or other proteolytic enzymes, as it minimizes cell damage and surface protein cleavage. Corning cell recovery solution is another option for cells/spheroids cultured in Matrigel matrix. This solution will allow non-enzymatic cell retrieval in small clumps and is frequently used in metabolic/RNA recovery experimentations. It can de-polymerize a thick Matrigel matrix layer at 4°C and facilitate cell retrieval. Cell-cell interactions can also be disrupted through the use of chelators and/or proteolytic enzymes such as Trypsin or Dispase. Using the solution at low temperature (on ice) and applying mechanical disruption such as pipetting or the use of an orbital shaker are other alternative methods to de-polymerize the Matrigel matrix.