STR Identity Profiling & Karyotype Authentication
Independent cell line authentication by STR profiling and G-band karyotype, at published rates, with the loci and database comparison specified rather than assumed.
| Category | QC, Characterization & Acceptance Testing |
|---|---|
| Unit | One assay run on one sample, or one FTA collection kit |
| Lead time | Most providers publish no turnaround; WiCell publishes 7-10 days for karyotype. Sample format is the hidden schedule risk — several providers ship an FTA card and want dried cells spotted on it, others want live culture or a pellet, and the wrong format loses a week |
| Pricing | Published list price |
| Provenance | Partner manufactured |
| Data current | 2026-09-01 |
Description
The identity layer, bought as a third-party test rather than taken on trust from a supplier's certificate of analysis. STR profiling is a multiplex PCR across short tandem repeat loci reported as an allele table, and the same nominal assay ranges from $65 to $250 per sample across published rate cards — a four-fold spread on a commodity test with only three causes, and only one of them is about quality. Institutional eligibility accounts for some of it: the same laboratory charges different rates by customer class. Loci count accounts for more: ATCC amplifies 17 STR loci plus amelogenin using PowerPlex 18D, while a cheaper published figure covers PowerPlex 16 at 15 autosomal loci plus X/Y, and more loci is more discriminating. What is bundled accounts for the rest: ATCC's price includes comparison against its own human cell STR database and against Cellosaurus, plus expert interpretation of stutter, off-ladder alleles and artefacts, delivered as a signed report — a core facility that returns an allele table has not done that work. The practical rule we apply is that if the result is going into a manuscript or a regulatory submission, the interpretation and database comparison are what you are paying for; if you are confirming the vial in your freezer is the line you think it is, the cheap option is fine. Karyotype sits alongside identity as the genomic-integrity assay, and it is the one most often skipped despite being effectively mandatory for master bank release, for any edited line, and for anything that has been single-cell cloned and extensively expanded — precisely the conditions under which abnormalities arise.
Why this is hard to buy today
The same nominal STR test ranges four-fold from $65 to $250 and the cheap end is frequently an internal institutional rate an external buyer cannot access at all, while the expensive end includes the database comparison and signed interpretation that a journal or regulator actually wants — so buyers compare on price without knowing they are comparing two different deliverables and one they are ineligible for.
Price evidence
Published list and rate-card figures captured 2026-09-01, all research use. STR identity: ATCC Human Cell STR Profiling Service, 17 STR loci plus amelogenin by PowerPlex 18D with report and ATCC database comparison, FTA Sample Collection Kit 135-XV $217.00 per kit, 10-kit pack 135-XV-10 $1,955.00 ($195.50 each, 9.9 percent discount), 20-kit pack 135-XV-20 $3,476.00 ($173.80 each, 19.9 percent), with a published quantity discount schedule on individual kit orders of 0 percent for 0-5, 10 percent for 6-10, 15 percent for 11-19, 20 percent for 20-29 and 25 percent for 30 or more; Arizona Genetics Core, PowerPlex 16 at 15 autosomal loci plus X/Y, $65.00 University of Arizona / $78.00 other academic / $97.50 industry; MD Anderson Cytogenetics and Cell Authentication Core, profiling against an in-house database of 4,000+ profiles, $90.00 in-network / $146.00 external; Tulane School of Medicine $150.00 for 1 sample, $200.00 for 2, $250.00 for 3, plus $50.00 each additional; Gates Center $250.00. Karyotype: Gates Center G-banding optimised for human iPSCs $917.73; Salk Institute, WiCell service, human karyotype $1,045.00 external non-profit / $1,307.00 external for-profit, WiCell published turnaround 7-10 days. Pluripotency, where identity work extends to line characterisation: Gates Center immunofluorescence for TRA-1-60, NANOG and OCT3/4 $586.26; qPCR for OCT4, NANOG and DNMT3B $477.53. GLP and cGMP-compliant versions of these assays are quoted, not listed, at every provider surveyed.
These are supplier list prices we located and recorded, not a quotation from Wetware World. Your price depends on quantity, specification and freight, and is only binding once issued in writing.
What you must specify
A quote cannot be produced without these. Anything you leave open, a supplier will assume — usually expensively.
| # | Parameter |
|---|---|
| 01 | Which loci and which kit (PowerPlex 16 and PowerPlex 18D are not the same panel) |
| 02 | Whether interpretation is included, or raw allele calls are returned |
| 03 | Which reference database the profile is compared against, if any |
| 04 | Number of samples, so the pack-size or quantity discount applies |
| 05 | Sample format required: FTA card with dried cells, live culture, or a frozen pellet |
| 06 | Whether a signed report is required for a manuscript or regulatory submission |
| 07 | For karyotype: banding method, number of metaphases scored, and species |
| 08 | Whether pluripotency confirmation is required, and by protein, transcript, or both |
| 09 | Turnaround requirement, in writing |
| 10 | Eligibility for the customer-class rate being quoted |
Quality documentation
Typically available with this item. What actually ships is confirmed on the quotation, per supplier.
- Allele table for the profiled loci
- Database comparison and expert interpretation where the provider includes it (ATCC states comparison against its own database and Cellosaurus, with interpretation of stutter, off-ladder alleles and artefacts)
- Signed test report citing the method and kit used
- Karyogram and metaphase count where karyotype is ordered
Candidate suppliers
Organisations we have identified as capable. Listing does not imply a partnership, an endorsement, or that they have agreed to quote.
| Organisation | Basis for inclusion |
|---|---|
| ATCC | Publishes Human Cell STR Profiling Service pricing per FTA collection kit ($217.00 / $1,955.00 for 10 / $3,476.00 for 20) plus a quantity discount schedule, and states the method as 17 STR loci plus amelogenin by PowerPlex 18D with database comparison and expert interpretation. Captured 2026-09-01. |
| Arizona Genetics Core | Publishes three-tier pricing ($65.00 UA / $78.00 non-UA academic / $97.50 industry) for PowerPlex 16 at 15 autosomal loci plus X/Y. Captured 2026-09-01. |
| MD Anderson Cytogenetics and Cell Authentication Core | Publishes STR profiling at $90.00 in-network / $146.00 external against an in-house database of 4,000+ profiles, alongside MycoAlert mycoplasma at $30.00 / $49.00 and shipping fees of $100 domestic / $800 international or non-academic. Captured 2026-09-01. |
| Gates Center Stem Cell Biobank and Disease Modeling Core | Published price list: STR $250.00, G-band karyotype optimised for human iPSCs $917.73, pluripotency immunofluorescence $586.26, pluripotency qPCR $477.53. Captured 2026-09-01. |
| Salk Institute Stem Cell Core (WiCell karyotype service) | Published rates effective 2025-07-01: WiCell human karyotype $1,045.00 external non-profit / $1,307.00 external for-profit; mycoplasma screen $144.00 / $180.00. WiCell publishes a 7-10 day karyotype turnaround. Captured 2026-09-01. |
Sources
- https://www.atcc.org/products/135-xv
- https://www.atcc.org/services/cell-authentication/human-cell-str-testing
- https://azgc.arizona.edu/services/complete-solutions/cell-line-authentication
- https://www.mdanderson.org/research/research-resources/core-facilities/cytogenetics-and-cell-authentication-core/services.html
- https://gates.cuanschutz.edu/who-we-are/core-facilities/stem-cell-biobank-and-disease-modeling-core/services-price-list
- https://salk.edu/science/core-facilities/stem-cell-core/scheduling-and-rates
doc WW-QC-73442 · rev 2026-09-01 · research use only · prices indicative and not binding until quoted in writing