LABORATORY SETUP OF A CELL CULTURE LAB

CELL CULTURE
LABORATORY SET-UP
Concepts of cell culture techniques Part 2
PRIYANSHA SINGH
B.Pharm, M.S. (Pharm.)- Pharmacology & Toxicology
Trainee DMPK- Invitro Electrophysiology
Sai life sciences

TYPICAL SETUP OF A CELL CULTURELABORATORY

Cell Culture Equipment
• The specific requirements of a cell culture laboratory depend mainly
on the type of research conducted.
• However all cell culture labs have the common requirement of being
free from pathogenic microorganisms & contamination & share some
of the basic equipments essential for culturing cells.

Equipment and materials required
Aseptic Area/ Basic
setup
Laminar flow hoods
Inverted microscope
Centrifuge
Water bath
Refrigerator
Freezer (-200 C, -800 C)
Liquid nitrogen freezers
Trolleys and carts
Incubators- normal & humid CO2
 Hemocytometer slides,
Cell counter.
Washing area
Washing sink
Pipette washer
Pipette dryer
Glassware washer
Millipore water purifier,
Suction pump,
Conductivity meter,
Magnetic stirrers,
Digital balance,
PH meter,
Osmometer.
Media Preparation Sterilization
equipment
Autoclave
 Hot air oven
Membrane filters
Pipettes,
Culture flasks,
Petri dishes,
 Multiwell plates,
Tip and tip boxes,
Centrifuge tubes
Cryovials
Glass bottles and
measuring cylinders.
Consumables

Basic components of a cell culture laboratory
Laminar air flow hood
Humid CO2 incubator
Centrifuge
Water bath
2-8°C refrigerator Inverted microscope

-20 & -80º C freezers Cell counter
Liquid Nitrogen tank
Pipette controller
Hemocytometer
Autoclave & hot air oven
Cryogenic vial
container

Culture flasks of various types
Multiwell culture plates
Single channel & multichannel pipette
with tip boxes
Petridish Centrifuge falcon tubes
70% alcohol

Culture vessels and their characteristics

Aseptic work area
• Major requirement
• Separate culture room is preferred for sterile handling & storage of the
equipments & reagents.
• Simplest & most economical way to provide aseptic conditions- use
cell culture hood/ biosafety cabinet

Cell Culture Hood
• The cell culture hood provides an aseptic work area while allowing the
containment of infectious splashes or aerosols generated by many microbiological
procedures.
• Three kinds of cell culture hoods, designated as Class I, II, and III, have been
developed to meet varying research and clinical needs.

Classes of cell culture hoods
Class I cell culture hoods offer significant
levels of protection to laboratory personnel and
to the environment when used with good
microbiological techniques, but they do not
protect cultures from contamination. Their
design and air flow characteristics are similar to
chemical fume hoods.
Class II cell culture hoods are designed for
work involving BSL-1, 2, and 3 materials,
and also provide an aseptic environment
necessary for cell culture experiments.
A Class II biosafety cabinet should be used
for handling potentially hazardous materials
(e.g., primate-derived cultures, virally
infected cultures, radioisotopes, carcinogenic
or toxic reagents).
The Class II biosafety cabinet is the most
common type of cell culture hood by far.
Class III biosafety cabinets
are gas-tight, and they provide
the highest attainable level of
protection to personnel and the
environment.
A Class III biosafety cabinet is
required for work involving
known human pathogens and
other BSL-4 materials.

Air-Flow Characteristics of Cell Culture Hoods
• Cell culture hoods protect the working environment from dust and other airborne contaminants by
maintaining a constant, unidirectional flow of HEPA-filtered air over the work area.
• The flow can be horizontal, blowing parallel to the work surface, or it can be vertical, blowing from the top of
the cabinet onto the work surface.
• Depending on its design, a horizontal flow hood provides protection to the culture (if the air flowing towards
the user) or to the user (if the air is drawn in through the front of the cabinet by negative air pressure inside).
• Vertical flow hoods, on the other hand, provide significant protection to the user and the cell culture.

Clean benches
• Horizontal laminar flow or vertical laminar flow “clean benches” are not biosafety cabinets; these
pieces of equipment discharge HEPA-filtered air from the back of the cabinet across the work
surface toward the user, and they may expose the user to potentially hazardous materials.
• These devices only provide product protection.
• Clean benches can be used for certain clean activities, such as the dust-free assembly of sterile
equipment or electronic devices, and they should never be used when handling cell culture
materials or drug formulations, or when manipulating potentially infectious materials.

Cell culture hood
• Provides aseptic work area while allowing the containment of infectious splashes or aerosols generated by
many microbiological procedures.
• A cell culture hood should be large enough to be used by one person at a time, be easily cleanable inside and
outside, have adequate lighting, and be comfortable to use without requiring awkward positions. Keep the work
space in the cell culture hood clean and uncluttered, and keep everything in direct line of sight. Disinfect each
item placed in the cell culture hood by spraying them with 70% ethanol and wiping clean.
• The arrangement of items within the cell culture hood usually adheres to the following right-handed
convention, which can be modified to include additional items used in specific applications.
 A wide, clear work space in the center with your cell culture vessels
 Pipettor in the front right, where it can be reached easily
 Reagents and media in the rear right to allow easy pipetting
 Tube rack in the rear middle holding additional reagents
Small container in the rear left to hold liquid waste

Cell Culture Hood layout
• A cell culture hood should be large enough to be used by one person at a time, be easily cleanable inside and
outside, have adequate lighting, and be comfortable to use without requiring awkward positions.
• Keep the work space in the cell culture hood clean and uncluttered, and keep everything in direct line of
sight. Disinfect each item placed in the cell culture hood by spraying them with 70% ethanol and wiping
clean.
• The arrangement of items within the cell culture hood usually adheres to the following right-handed
convention, which can be modified to include additional items used in specific applications.
 A wide, clear work space in the center with your cell culture vessels
 Pipettor in the front right, where it can be reached easily
 Reagents and media in the rear right to allow easy pipetting
 Tube rack in the rear middle holding additional reagents
 Small container in the rear left to hold liquid waste

Layout for openwork benchin laminar airflowhood

Incubators
The purpose of the incubator is to provide an appropriate environment for cell growth, mimicking conditions in the
body where the cells originated.
The incubator should be large enough, have forced-air circulation, and should have temperature control to within
±0°C.
Stainless steel incubators allow easy cleaning and provide corrosion protection, especially if humid air is required for
incubation.
Pure copper incubators provide an easy-care alternative that simplifies cleaning.
Although the requirement for aseptic conditions in a cell culture incubator is not as stringent as that in a biological
safety cabinet, frequent cleaning of the incubator is essential to reduce the risk of contamination of cell cultures.

Types of incubators
• There are two basic types of incubators, water-jacketed and direct-heat CO2 incubators.
• Water-jacketed incubators are of older technology but will best maintain conditions in the
event of a power failure.
• Direct-heat incubators can offer an automated high-temperature sterilization cycle, but
this must be independently proven effective.
• In any case, active air circulation using a fan is essential to ensure uniform conditions
throughout, and fast recovery from a door opening.

Storage
• A cell culture laboratory should have storage areas for liquids such as media and reagents, for chemicals such
as drugs and antibiotics, for consumables such as disposable pipettes, culture vessels, and gloves, for
glassware such as media bottles and glass pipettes, for specialized equipment, and for tissues and cells.
• Glassware, plastics, and specialized equipment can be stored at ambient temperature on shelves and in
drawers; however, it is important to store all media, reagents, and chemicals according to the instructions on
the label.
• Some media, reagents, and chemicals are sensitive to light; while their normal laboratory use under lighted
conditions is tolerated, they should be stored in the dark or wrapped in aluminum foil when not in use

• Refrigerators- For small cell culture laboratories, a domestic refrigerator (preferably one without a auto-
defrost freezer) is an adequate and inexpensive piece of equipment for storing reagents and media at 2–8°C.
For larger laboratories, a cold room restricted to cell culture is more appropriate. Make sure that the refrigerator
or the cold room is cleaned regularly to avoid contamination.
• Freezers- Most cell culture reagents can be stored at –5°C to –20°C; therefore an ultra-deep freezer (i.e., a –
80°C freezer) is optional for storing most reagents. A domestic freezer is a cheaper alternative to a laboratory
freezer.
While most reagents can withstand temperature oscillations in an auto-defrost (i.e., self-thawing) freezer, some
reagents such as antibiotics and enzymes should be stored in a freezer that does not auto-defrost.

Cryogenic Storage
• Cell lines in continuous culture are likely to suffer from genetic instability as their
passage number increases; therefore, it is essential to prepare working stocks of
the cells and preserve them in cryogenic storage.
• Do not store cells in –20°C or –80°C freezers, because their viability quickly
decreases when they are stored at these temperatures.
• There are two main types of liquid-nitrogen storage systems, vapor phase and
liquid phase, which come as wide-necked or narrow-necked storage containers.
• Vapor phase systems minimize the risk of explosion with cryo-storage tubes, and
are required for storing biohazardous materials, while the liquid phase systems
usually have longer static holding times, and are therefore more economical.
• Narrow-necked containers have a slower nitrogen evaporation rate and are more
economical, but wide-necked containers allow easier access and have a larger
storage capacity.

Cell Counter
• A cell counter is essential for quantitative growth kinetics, and a great advantage when more than
two or three cell lines are cultured in the laboratory.
• The Countess® Automated Cell Counter is a bench-top instrument designed to measure cell count
and viability (live, dead, and total cells) accurately and precisely in less than a minute per sample,
using the standard Trypan Blue uptake technique.
• Using the same amount of sample that you currently use with the Hemocytometer, the Countess®
Automated Cell Counter takes less than a minute per sample for a typical cell count and is
compatible with a wide variety of eukaryotic cells.

ASEPTIC TECHNIQUE
• Successful cell culture depends heavily on keeping the cells free from contamination by
microorganisms such as bacterial, fungi, and viruses.
• Non-sterile supplies, media, and reagents, airborne particles laden with microorganisms,
unclean incubators, and dirty work surfaces are all sources of biological contamination.
• Aseptic technique, designed to provide a barrier between the microorganisms in the
environment and the sterile cell culture, depends upon a set of procedures to reduce the
probability of contamination from these sources.
• The elements of aseptic technique are a sterile work area, good personal hygiene, sterile
reagents and media, and sterile handling

Sterile Work Area
• The simplest and most economical way to reduce contamination from airborne particles and aerosols (e.g., dust,
spores, shed skin, sneezing) is to use a cell culture hood.
• The cell culture hood should be properly set up and be located in an area that is restricted to cell culture that is free
from drafts from doors, windows, and other equipment, and with no through traffic.
• The work surface should be uncluttered and contain only items required for a particular procedure; it should not be
used as a storage area.
• Before and after use, the work surface should be disinfected thoroughly, and the surrounding areas and equipment
should be cleaned routinely.
• For routine cleaning, wipe the work surface with 70% ethanol before and during work, especially after any spillage.
• You may use ultraviolet light to sterilize the air and exposed work surfaces in the cell culture hood between uses.
• Leave the cell culture hood running at all times, turning them off only when they will not be used for extended
periods of time

• Good Personal Hygiene- Wash your hands before and after working with cell cultures. In addition
to protecting you from hazardous materials, wearing personal protective equipment also reduces
the probability of contamination from shed skin as well as dirt and dust from your clothes.
• Sterile Reagents and Media- Commercial reagents and media undergo strict quality control to
ensure their sterility, but they can become contaminated while handling. Follow the guidelines
below for sterile handling to avoid contaminating them. Always sterilize any reagents, media, or
solutions prepared in the laboratory using the appropriate sterilization procedure (e.g., autoclave,
sterile filter).

To do list for Sterile handling
 Always wipe your hands, workstation, consumables (before placing them directly in hood) with 70% IPA.
 Avoid pouring media and reagents directly from bottles or flasks.
 Use sterile glass or disposable plastic pipettes and a pipettor to work with liquids, and use each pipette only once to avoid cross
contamination. Do not unwrap sterile pipettes until they are to be used. Keep your pipettes at your work area.
 Always cap the bottles and flasks after use and seal multi-well plates with tape or place them in re-sealable bags to prevent
microorganisms and air borne contaminants from gaining entry.
 Never uncover a sterile flask, bottle, petri dish, etc. until the instant you are ready to use it and never leave it open to the environment.
Return the cover as soon as you are finished.
 If you remove a cap or cover, and have to put it down on the work surface, place the cap with opening facing down.
 Use only sterile glassware and other equipment.
 Be careful not to talk, sing, or whistle when you are performing sterile procedures.
 Perform your experiments as rapidly as possible to minimize contamination

Good Aseptic Techniques contd....

References
• Invitrogen- Gibco by Life technologies Handbook of cell culture basics
Pages 3-14

LABORATORY SETUP OF A CELL CULTURE LAB

More Related Content

What's hot

Similar to LABORATORY SETUP OF A CELL CULTURE LAB

More from PHARMA IQ EDUCATION

Recently uploaded

LABORATORY SETUP OF A CELL CULTURE LAB