What are the advantages of animal cell culture?

Animal cell culture is a technique that involves removing cells from an animal and growing them under controlled conditions outside of their natural environment. Cell cultures are widely used in various research studies and also test new drugs and diagnose infections. Using animal cell culture offers researchers several advantages: 

• Homogeneity of cells can be maintained more easily by using selective media.
• Physiological conditions (nutrient and hormone levels) as well as physio-chemical environment in the culture (temperature, pH, level of dissolved gases, and osmolarity) can be precisely controlled. 
• Cell-to-cell interactions, regulation of matrix, cell substrate attachment, and other micro-environment components of the cell can be controlled. 
• It is possible to store cell cultures in liquid nitrogen for a long period of time using an appropriate cryopreservation medium. 
• Various cell quantification techniques can be used to easily quantify cells in the culture. 
• Immune-staining or cytological techniques can be used to easily characterize cells in the culture. 
• Researchers can test the potential toxicity of drugs and other compounds using in vitro cytotoxicity studies, which use the cell culture technique.  
• Cell cultures can be used to study the effects of concentration and time on drugs, toxins, and pharmacologically active molecules.  
• Using cell culture techniques significantly reduces the use of animals in scientific experiments. 
• Monoclonal antibodies can be produced using cell culture with hydridoma technology. 
• Aids in the study of molecular pathways inside cells. 
• Helps researchers visualize various molecular and physiological events in the cells.