Reducing contamination in your incubator is a continuous challenge. One of the easiest things to start with is to choose cell culture equipment that guards against contamination – equipment that is focused on temperature, gas concentrations and humidity.
- Install your incubator where there is minimal foot traffic and where air disturbance is reduced.
- Avoid installing your incubator near window air conditioners, ceiling or floor HVAC air diffusers or return air intakes, all of which are sources of airborne contamination
- The CO2 or other gas supply tubing should be fitted with a 0.3 micron filter prior to flow into the incubator solenoid controls. Using a long tubing section makes it easy to access the filter cartridge to replace the filter medium.
- Use a 70% ethanol solution to wipe down the interior or your incubator. Intentional dilution is to give the ethanol time to kill the contaminant before the ethanol evaporates.
- Make sure cell culture apparatus such as orbital or reciprocal shakers, rockers, cell bottle rollers, magnetic stirrers and other devices are free of contaminants before they are placed in the incubator.
Learn how to lessen contamination risks and help improve your reproducibility. Download our application note “Mitigating Contamination in the Cell Culture Incubator.”
