Laboratory Equipment To Prepare Cells

Preparing cells or handling cell culture research is a delicate process and you must outfit your lab with the right tools for the laboratory. In addition, having the right equipment is essential to ensure effective workflow and an efficient laboratory schedule. 

Hence it’s crucial to understand what the right laboratory equipment is for preparing cells and what are their purposes of design to decorate the lab properly and get maximum productivity. In this article, we’ve discussed some of the most effective and efficient lab equipment needed in a cell culture lab.

Laboratory Equipment to Prepare Cells

Cell culture research means practicing the growth and observing the growth of microorganisms in a laboratory setting. It’s useful in the medical lab to analyze infections and test drugs. 

However, the practice can be performed in plenty of ways in laboratories.  Hence you should collect the proper cell culture research instruments in the lab. Below is the list of the most useful cell culture equipment requiring in the lab:

Cell Culture Hood

Cell culture hoods encourage safety and cleanliness in cell culture research. In such laboratory, cleanliness is very crucial to avoid polluting the experiments and materials. Laminar flow hoods effectively prevent airborne pollutants from entering the workstation and ultimately avoid contamination.

 Biosafety cabinets provide various levels of protection for the substances. Apart from that you may require a different level of protection depending on the cell culture research you perform and the type of microorganisms, you’ll work with.

Laboratory Refrigerator and Freezer

Storage is vital in a cell culture lab. Every tool, instrument, and specimen has a separate place to store and keep protected and controlled. The instruments and tools like plastics and glassware can be stored at room temperature. 

But you’ll need to store materials, chemicals, and specimens at a certain temperature mentioned on the labels. In this case, you can use a laboratory chest freezer to store your specimens conveniently in the laboratory. 

The reagents and cell culture media has specific temperature needs where laboratory refrigeration and freezing come out in handy. Specifically, some reagents and media need storage at 35 degrees F pr 2 to 8 degrees C. However, most of the reagents need a temperature lower than negative 5 degrees C. in this case, you should read the labels of the material to handle them properly. 

Liquid Nitrogen Storage

If you require a much colder temperature to store cells for longer times, you can use a liquid nitrogen freezer tank. Cryogenic storage or liquid nitrogen freezers allow protection cells from the genetic instability that happened over time. 

Freezing the substances in the liquid nitrogen tank is also a great way to preserve cells for a longer time than preserving them in the typical freezer or refrigerator. Considering the specimen type you are working with, you have to use either a liquid phase or vapor phase nitrogen storage chamber. A vapor phase system is also handy for any biohazardous materials.

Incubator

To test and observe the cell cultures, you’ll require a suitable chamber that improves cell growth. The incubator offers a controlled environment with the ideal growth conditions for certain cells that are used in the test. 

The incubator allows controlling the temperature inside it to test various specimens and cell cultures. This laboratory equipment also provides adjustable CO2 levels and humidity levels to ensure full control over the growing environments.

Inverted Microscope

Apart from the equipment for holding, storage, and safety of the materials, you’ll need some equipment for observing cell cultures. In this case, the inverted microscope is a vital device in any cell culture research. 

It helps the laboratory operator monitor cell morphology like the cell’s structure, shape, size, and form. This lab equipment device also helps to identify the growth processes, count cells and catch the symptoms of contamination.

Hemocytometer

This is helpful laboratory equipment for monitoring cell cultures and helping in counting the cell number as well as finding out the cell concentration. While the manual process is time-consuming for counting cells and leaves effort, the automatic process makes it more efficient, accurate, and successful. 

Centrifuge

This laboratory equipment helps separate the liquid particles based on density, size, and viscosity. Variations in rotor speed also change the separation’s outcome. The centrifuge machine utilizes gravitational pressure and centrifugal pressure to separate these particles. 

This laboratory equipment to prepare cells is available in a range of models, sizes, and specifications. 

Among all these variations, the rotor type angle and the angle that keep the test tubes in place are considerably more effective for some research compared to other models. The cell culture experiments need centrifuges to separate suspended cells throughout the culture stages. 

Water Bath

If you need to pre-warm a medium or specimen before use, you’ll have to use a water bath in the laboratory. Lab operators frequently use a water bath in cell culture analysis to thaw frozen cells successfully.

Cell Culture Vessels

 It’s a set of top-grade plastic containers that are perfect for cell culture use. This plasticware is available in a wide range of shapes, sizes, and specifications to meet various needs. Considering the applications, you may collect various and large numbers of the vessel.

For example, plates, flasks, and pipettes have various applications and use. You may also need consumables that are single-use plastic and allow control and are sterile for transporting cultures. In addition, using consumables in the laboratory spacer eliminates the need of applying sterilization and cleaning procedures, making the workflow more efficient. 

Tips For Successful Cell Culture In The Lab

Are your cell cultures failing constantly? Don’t fret, you can become a cell culture professional with a little knowledge and practice. Following are the tips to follow:

Clean the Equipment and Work Area

Cleaning the lab equipment and work area is crucial to avoid contamination of cells. In this case, you should sterilize the equipment including Petri dishes and pipettes before use.

Pick the Right Cells

Cells aren’t created equally and you should choose the right apparatus that is most suitable for your research. In this case, the factors you should consider are the type of cells, source, and any special needs.

Use the Proper Media

In general, the nutritional needs of cells vary from type to type. Hence you should use the appropriate media to keep the cells happy and healthy. In this case, you can follow the manufacturer’s guidelines and consider t the factors like osmolality and pH to prepare the media.

Keep an Eye on Cells

Check the cells regularly to make sure they are dividing and growing properly. In this case, you can utilize the microscope to check them and find out any symptoms of stress like changes or rounding in appearance.

Avoid Over or Under-Feeding the Cells

Like humans, cells require the proper amount of food to remain healthy. Insufficient media can cause starvation while excessive media can cause toxic conditions and waste buildup. In addition, change the media at regular intervals and utilize the right amount of cells per dish. 

Avoid Overheating or Freezing the Cells

Remember, cells are extremely sensitive to temperature changes, and its a need to keep them in a narrow range. In addition, use an incubator or water bath to maintain the right temperature and avoid storing cell cultures in the freezer or fridge.

Avoid Over or Passaging the Cells

During diving the cells, they reach a point where they can’t divide and begin to senesce. It’s crucial to divide the cells at the ideal time to prevent over or under-passaging. In this case, you can divide the cells once they reached approximately 80% confluence.

Use the Right Antibiotics

During using antibiotics to stop contamination, opt for the one that is most ideal for your cells. Remember, some antibiotics can be deadly to some types of cells. So it’s vital to make some research and check them out before utilizing them in cultures. 

Practice Good Lab Hygiene

You should follow proper laboratory safety protocols to keep the work area and equipment clean. In this case, the steps to follow are washing hands regularly, wearing lab coats and gloves, and disposing of hazardous substances ideally. 

Be Patience

Cell culture is fairly challenging and you may experience failure throughout the journey. However, patience and practice can help you prevent or reduce the risks. so don’t give up quit and keep trying until get success.

Final Words

In the end, you have some helpful laboratory equipment to prepare cells or do cell culture research. So start collecting this equipment to handle your upcoming cell culture study safely and successfully. Lastly, while looking for the source to collect this lab equipment, deal with a company that delivers top-quality equipment and support throughout the journey.