Biolabs work tirelessly to develop new and exciting technologies designed to evolve in their controlled environments. Often, labs use cell cultures from various host cell systems for different purposes, from cosmetics to vaccines and everything in between. Eliminating and preventing contamination is a critical step the lab must take. We discuss how to prevent contaminating your cell cultures below.

Wear Appropriate Lab Attire

The most common issue with lab contamination is researchers not wearing the appropriate lab attire or not wearing enough of it. Things like goggles, a coat, and gloves are all vital, but extending these efforts into buttoning coats, sterilizing attire daily, and protecting footwear can reduce contamination risks. Depending on the level of protection you need and the cells of interest, you must consider using the hood to provide an additional layer of environmental protection.

Use the Hood Correctly

You don’t always need to use a hood, but when you do, you must use it correctly. There must be adequate airflow inside the hood and no blockages preventing the airflow. Users should not place materials over or near the inlets as this will prevent proper airflow. At the end of the workday, ensure all working hoods are sterilized with ethanol, and consider sterilizing them once again before another use.

Clean the Incubator Systems Regularly

Like the hoods, incubator systems must receive regular cleanings. Cleaning them is one of the best ways to prevent contaminating your cell cultures since the cultures directly interact with these instruments. You will want to clean them and offer a sterile water bath regularly.

Some incubators have self-cleaning modes, but you should look to manually clean any system without this feature and any incubator you’re unsure of. Some biolabs benefit from adding chemicals to the water baths to help stop the spread of contaminants, but this may only apply if the system is in contact with known hazardous particles.

Changing the water in the bath regularly is a vital part of lab maintenance, so if you’re not doing this daily, ensure you do it weekly. When you change the water, ensure you run a complete water bath treatment before introducing new water.

Minimize Cell Exposures

Minimizing cell exposure limits can not only prevent contamination but also increase the expression of bacteria like E. coli. E. Coli is a bacterial host cell that requires delicate handling, and if the culture experiences too much exposure it may not produce high yields. This means avoiding all non-sterile exposures and doing away with anything that goes against the culture’s life and intentions.

Any time spent outside a controlled environment puts the culture conditions at risk of contamination and can reduce its production efficacy. The most common example of non-sterile exposure is transferring the cells from one space to another or when completing time-lapse imaging.

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