A method for measuring steroid adsorption to tissue culture plasticware

Abstract

Tritiated test steroids were added to culture medium in plastic tissue culture vessels. At different time intervals, levels of radioactivity in the plastic itself and in the culture medium were measured. There was significant adsorption of steroids to the test vessel. We describe here a general procedure to measure the amount of steroid hormone adsorbed from culture media by tissue culture plasticware, and the remaining amount actually available to the cells in the medium. Such measurements may be critical in establishing doses of steroids for in vitro endocrinology experiments.