Culturing spinal cord explants in a collagen gel.

A new method for culturing spinal cord slices or explants is presented which entails the use of a commercially available purified collagen, Vitrogen. Vitrogen provides a stable three-dimensional matrix for culturing spinal cord explants which is superior to the conventional method of applying explants to moist dishes coated with rat tail collagen. The use of Vitrogen facilitated the culturing of spinal cord explants which remain viable for over 2 1/2 weeks in culture, in addition to enhancing neuritic growth.