Transwell Inserts & Permeable Supports
Permeable membrane inserts specified by material, pore size and pore density rather than by catalogue habit, with published growth areas so your TEER and permeability numbers normalise correctly.
| Category | Culture Devices & Custom Microfabrication |
|---|---|
| Unit | One pack of inserts (typically 24) or one hang-top plate |
| Lead time | 1-3 weeks from a distributor for catalogue formats; longer where a specific membrane and pore-density combination is not held in the territory |
| Pricing | Published list price |
| Provenance | Partner manufactured |
| Data current | 2026-09-03 |
Description
The oldest device in the culture-hardware category and still the most used, and the only one whose specification is fully public, which makes it the reference point when a chip vendor claims equivalence to a Transwell. Two decisions carry almost all the consequence: membrane material and pore size. Corning publishes growth areas by format (0.143 cm2 at 4.26 mm in a 96-well through to 44 cm2 at 75 mm in a 100 mm dish) with apical and basolateral volumes, and states plainly that these are nominal, vary with manufacturing variability, and that users should validate methods independently of the reported values, membrane thickness in particular is stated to vary up to 60 percent of nominal. Pore density is the number people forget and it is the one that changes the answer: at 0.4 um a polycarbonate membrane carries 1 x 10^8 pores/cm2 against 4 x 10^6 for polyester, a 25-fold difference in open area at the same stated pore size, which means different blank resistance, different diffusive flux and different apparent permeability. Migration will not occur below 3.0 um pores; that is a floor, not a tendency. We also source the rest of the family, which is regularly mis-bought: Snapwell for a detachable 12 mm ring destined for an Ussing chamber, Netwell for polyester mesh bottoms for gels and explants, and HTS Transwell-96 as the single robotics-friendly unit with a 1.3 mm well-bottom elevation. Where a format does not exist for the geometry you need, or a membrane has to be bonded into a custom device, that becomes a fabrication job and we route it accordingly.
Why this is hard to buy today
Two inserts with the same stated pore size can differ 25-fold in pore density because one is polycarbonate and one is polyester, which changes blank resistance and apparent permeability, so a buyer who substitutes on availability has silently changed the experiment, and no catalogue page puts pore density next to pore size at the point of purchase.
Price evidence
Corning does not publish insert pricing in a form we could verify, and it varies by distributor, pack size and territory, so we quote it rather than estimate it. The published comparators for what a permeable support costs are live store list prices captured 2026-09-01: MatTek PermaCell culture inserts, PTFE 0.4 um, 24 per pack, $141.00 ($5.88 per insert); MatTek PermaCell culture inserts, PET 0.4 um, 24 per pack, $131.00 ($5.46 per insert); MatTek PermaCell hang-top 24-well plates $55.00 per pack; AIM Biotech organiX Insert, catalogue OGNXI, box of 24, $420.00 ($17.50 per insert), with the same SKU distributed by MatTek at $456.00 (an 8.6 percent distributor spread measured across eight AIM SKUs at a consistent 7.4 to 8.9 percent).
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 | Insert diameter and matching plate format (4.26 mm / 96-well through 75 mm / 100 mm dish) |
| 02 | Membrane material: polyester (PET), polycarbonate (PC) or collagen-coated PTFE |
| 03 | Pore size, and the pore density that goes with it in that material |
| 04 | Whether cells must be visible through the membrane (PET clear, PC translucent, PTFE clear when wet) |
| 05 | Assay intent: barrier and transport (0.4-3.0 um) versus invasion and chemotaxis (3.0 um and above) |
| 06 | Whether the membrane must be removable into an Ussing or diffusion chamber (Snapwell) |
| 07 | Whether a mesh rather than a track-etched membrane is required (Netwell, for gels and explants) |
| 08 | Automation requirement and therefore whether the HTS-96 single unit is needed |
| 09 | ECM coating chemistry to be applied, and by whom |
| 10 | TEER instrument and electrode configuration to be used, so the blank and normalisation are agreed up front |
Quality documentation
Typically available with this item. What actually ships is confirmed on the quotation, per supplier.
- Manufacturer certificate of conformance and lot number
- Stated nominal growth area for the format, for per-area normalisation
- Stated pore size and nominal pore density for the membrane material supplied
- Sterility status as supplied
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 |
|---|---|
| Corning Life Sciences | Instructions for Use publish growth areas, medium volumes, membrane characteristics, pore sizes and nominal pore densities for PET, PC and collagen-coated PTFE, and state values are nominal with thickness varying up to 60 percent of nominal. No verified list price. |
| MatTek (Sartorius), PermaCell | Public WooCommerce Store API returns live USD list prices; queried 2026-09-01. PermaCell PTFE 0.4 um 24-pack $141.00, PET 0.4 um 24-pack $131.00, hang-top 24-well plates $55.00. |
| AIM Biotech | Public WooCommerce Store API returns live USD list prices; queried 2026-09-01. organiX Insert OGNXI, box of 24, $420.00. The same SKU through MatTek at $456.00, part of a measured 7.4-8.9 percent distributor spread across eight SKUs. |
Sources
- https://warneronline.com/sites/default/files/2018-08/Corning-Snapwell-Transwell%20Instruction%20Manual1_1.pdf
- https://www.corning.com/worldwide/en/products/life-sciences/products/permeable-supports/transwell-snapwell-netwell-falcon-permeable-supports.html
- https://www.mattek.com/
- https://aimbiotech.com/identx-products
- https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10898416/
doc WW-DV-62498 · rev 2026-09-03 · research use only · prices indicative and not binding until quoted in writing