Today I got a package.
This package contained some collagen-coated PTFE membranes for organoid culture. I ordered it back in June and it took until now to arrive. But the really crazy thing is the story behind it.
Corning is best known these days as the manufacturer of glass for iPhones, but they also produce a wide variety of other things, including materials for cell culture. My research critically depends on two of their products: Matrigel (basically, ground-up mouse tumors with lots of extracellular matrix proteins), and Transwell membranes for organoid culture. Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, Corning has apparently deprioritized the manufacture of their cell culture products, and they have even discontinued several items. Furthermore, they messed up a switch to a new warehouse, which has futher caused shortages.
Interestingly, it’s impossible to buy things directly from Corning. Orders must be placed through one of several licensed distributors. Often, the distrubutors will be rather . . . optimistic . . . about the Corning products they have in stock. I’ve been promised several times that my order would ship in three days when after three months there’s still been no shipment. This deception means I need to place orders with multiple distributors in order to actually get what I need. As other researchers are undoubtedly in the same situation, this causes an inflated demand, making the problem worse.
The package in this picture was sent from Corning to the distributor in February 2020. It then sat in the distributor’s warehouse for over a year, until I ordered it last June. From that time, it still took me a few months to actually get it. Fortunately the product expiration date isn’t until 2022.
I’m pretty sure this is the last batch of collagen-coated PTFE membranes ever produced. Corning’s website says this product has been discontinued, so this is all I’ll ever get. I need to use them wisely! I might get a few more from the four orders I placed with other distributors, but it’s looking unlikely.
Anyway, if things don’t improve soon, I’ll end up with a lot more time for blogging.