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Thursday, January 17, 2008
Tissue Culture Methods
TYPES OF CELLS GROWN IN CULTURE
Tissue culture is often a generic term that refers to both organ culture and cell culture and the terms are often used interchangeably. Cell cultures are derived from either primary tissue explants or cell suspensions. Primary cell cultures typically will have a finite life span in culture whereas continuous cell lines are, by definition, abnormal and are often transformed cell lines.
WORK AREA AND EQUIPMENT
A. Laminar flow hoods. There are two types of laminar flow hoods, vertical and horizontal. The vertical hood, also known as a biology safety cabinet, is best for working with hazardous organisms since the aerosols that are generated in the hood are filtered out before they are released into the surrounding environment. Horizontal hoods are designed such that the air flows directly at the operator hence they are not useful for working with hazardous organisms but are the best protection for your cultures. Both types of hoods have continuous displacement of air that passes through a HEPA (high efficiency particle) filter that removes particulates from the air. In a vertical hood, the filtered air blows down from the top of the cabinet; in a horizontal hood, the filtered air blows out at the operator in a horizontal fashion.
NOTE: these are not fume hoods and should not be used for volatile or explosive chemicals. They should also never be used for bacterial or fungal work. The hoods are equipped with a short-wave UV light that can be turned on for a few minutes to sterilize the surfaces of the hood, but be aware that only exposed surfaces will be accessible to the UV light. Do not put your hands or face near the hood when the UV light is on as the short wave light can cause skin and eye damage. The hoods should be turned on about 10-20 minutes before being used. Wipe down all surfaces with ethanol before and after each use. Keep the hood as free of clutter as possible because this will interfere with the laminar flow air pattern.
CO2 Incubators
The cells are grown in an atmosphere of 5-10% CO2 because the medium used is buffered with sodium bicarbonate/carbonic acid and the pH must be strictly maintained. Culture flasks should have loosened caps to allow for sufficient gas exchange. Cells should be left out of the incubator for as little time as possible and the incubator doors should not be opened for very long. The humidity must also be maintained for those cells growing in tissue culture dishes so a pan of water is kept filled at all times.
Microscopes
Inverted phase contrast microscopes are used for visualizing the cells. Microscopes should be kept covered and the lights turned down when not in use. Before using the microscope or whenever an objective is changed, check that the phase rings are aligned.
D. Preservation. Cells are stored in liquid nitrogen (see Section III- Preservation and storage).
Vessels
Anchorage dependent cells require a nontoxic, biologically inert, and optically transparent surface that will allow cells to attach and allow movement for growth. The most convenient vessels are specially-treated polystyrene plastic that are supplied sterile and are disposable. These include petri dishes, multi-well plates, microtiter plates, roller bottles, and screwcap flasks - T-25, T-75, T-150 (cm2 of surface area). Suspension cells are either shaken, stirred, or grown in vessels identical to those used for anchorage-dependent cells.
http://userpages.umbc.edu/~jwolf/method5.htm
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