View My GitHub Profile

Useful cell numbers in various culture formats

Go Back to Protocols

by Shaohe Wang

Different cell lines can have different sizes and growth properties that will affect the accuracy of this estimate, but it can serve as a starting point to guide experimental design.

1. Cell number for indicated confluence levels

Culture format Area (cm2) 100% 30% 20%
10-cm dish 78 1×107 3×106 2×106
T75 flask 75 1×107 3×106 2×106
35-mm dish 9.6 1.2×106 3.6×105 2.4×105
6-well plate 9.6 1.2×106 3.6×105 2.4×105
12-well plate 3.5 4.3×105 1.3×105 8.6×104
24-well plate 1.9 2.4×105 7.2×104 4.8×104
96-well plate 0.32 4×104 1.2×104 8×103
8-well ibidi chamber 1 1.3×105 3.9×104 2.5×104

2. Cheat sheet for 8-well ibidi chamber seeding

Cells / mL µL for 10% 20% 30% 50% 100%
5×105 25 50 75 125 250
6×105 21 42 63 104 208
7×105 18 36 54 89 179
8×105 16 31 47 78 156
9×105 14 28 42 69 139
1×106 13 25 38 63 125
1.1×106 11 23 34 57 114
1.2×106 10 21 31 52 104
1.3×106 10 19 29 48 96
1.4×106 8.9 18 27 45 89
1.5×106 8.3 17 25 42 83
1.6×106 7.8 16 23 39 78
1.7×106 7.4 15 22 37 74
1.8×106 6.9 14 21 35 69
1.9×106 6.6 13 20 33 66
2×106 6.3 13 19 31 63