Culture Collections

The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) is the custodian of four unique collections of expertly preserved, authenticated cell lines, bacteria, viruses, and fungi of known provenance for use in medical science and laboratory healthcare. Scientists across the world use Culture Collections’ cell lines and microbial strains. All bacterial and fungal strains are available in a freeze-dried (lyophilised) format, in fused-glass ampoules. Viruses and cell lines are supplied as cryopreserved ampoules of living viruses/cells. All the collections are developed, managed and maintained by highly trained, dedicated staff who work in accordance with internationally recognised quality standards including certification to ISO 9001:2015. Cultures from the collections are used by scientists who need to be sure that the materials they are using are authentic, so the conclusions to their studies are valid and relevant. This is particularly important where research may lead to peer-reviewed publications, for example, in drug discovery and vaccine efficacy studies. Authenticated reference strains are also of paramount importance for clinical diagnostic testing, food, water and environmental microbiology testing and validation studies. The departments within Culture Collections are: ECACC (The European Collection of Authenticated Cell Cultures) for cell lines NCTC (National Collection of Type cultures for bacterial strains NCPV (National Collection of Pathogens and Viruses) for viral strains NCPF (National Collection of Pathogenic Fungi) for fungal strains