A lab incubator is an important piece of equipment in any lab, but it must be used and maintained properly to get accurate results. Furthermore, certain models may be rather costly, and you don’t want to have to replace your equipment too frequently.
Make sure your unit is in the right spot
Your unit can function more effectively and have less exposure to possible pollutants if it is properly positioned. Here are some things to think about while choosing the best location for your lab incubator:
- Contaminants can enter through doorways and vents, increasing the likelihood of fungal development. Furthermore, they can cause draughts, which might damage your unit’s temperature stability.
- Temperature variations and anti-condensation problems might occur when exposed to direct sunshine.
- You’ll need adequate room around the unit (at least three inches) for heat to escape and wires and plugs to be conveniently accessible.
- To reduce the danger of pollutants rushing in when the door is open, place microbiological incubators on a stand.
- Avoid humid, moist locations that might be breeding grounds for fungus.
- Vibrations from shakers, stirrers, and freezers might impair cell development, so keep your units away from them.
- As much as possible, keep the area surrounding the unit clean.
- A temperature-controlled environment with cleanroom conditions would be ideal for a lab incubator. Because this isn’t always possible or practicable, most applications will have to make do with the parameters listed above.
Keep an eye on the temperature
For optimum cell culture development, incubators are frequently kept at 37°C. Temperature fluctuations can stifle development or even kill cultures. Temperature sensors are standard equipment, but how can you ensure that your sensor will always work? Using a second thermometer is one technique to verify the proper temperature.
If your incubator has a glass door, you may use a calibrated thermometer to read the temperature without having to open the door. You may compare this to the sensor temperature, and if the two aren’t the same, you’ll need to recalibrate the sensor.
Keeping the temperature constant may be as simple as not opening and closing the door as much as possible (and prevent contaminants from entering the chamber). You can get an incubator with a door lock if you’re worried about the door being accidentally opened.
Keep an eye on the humidity and CO2 levels
A particular humidity level and, in rare circumstances, CO2 levels are also required for optimal cell culture development. Changes in these factors affect tissues and cells, therefore they must be constantly monitored.
It’s possible that your cell culture medium may evaporate or your growth media will become excessively concentrated if the humidity is too low.
The ideal humidity level is about 95%, and to maintain it you need to make sure the water tray (under the incubator) is never dry.
You’ll need to keep an eye on the CO2 level in CO2 incubators. This is usually kept at 5% to keep the pH steady for optimum development. The CO2 sensors aid in this process by indicating when and how much CO2 should be supplied to the chamber. Every few months, you can check CO2 levels using an external gas analyzer.
If your incubator is polluted, your findings will almost certainly suffer. When you handle containers that are to be placed into the microbiological incubators, always use gloves. If you’re using a humidity pan, make sure to replace the water at least once a week. The humidity pan, chamber, shelves, and any other detachable pieces should all be cleaned regularly. Depending on the use, disinfection may be enough, or full sterilization may be necessary. Make sure that any disinfectants you employ won’t hurt your cell cultures or cause the incubator chamber to corrode.
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Original Source: https://uberant.com/article/1814524-how-to-clean-up-an-incubator-/
