I'm doing OSCC cell culture and routine media (supplemented MEM) changes every 72 hours. The media looks healthy in terms of color (reddish-orange), and there was no microbial contamination under the microscope.
However, I found this large piece in my flask (first pic), which is much bigger than my cells. Can anyone help me identify what this is? Is it debris, dead cells, or contamination?
Also, in the second pic I shared below, can anyone help identify what each of the encircled objects are in my OSCC culture? The blue circles I'm guessing are shards of the cell culture flask, and the green ones could be bubbles from the upper internal surface of the flask, as I could see some condensation from inside the flask. I could be wrong though.
Those could be fragments of dust, cover slip impurities, from your flask, or dead cells. I would suggest plating on LB and YPD to check.
Dear researcher, if your media is clear and the color remain normal than this debris could be due to dust particles in the surroundings while working with culturing or spilling. Also, make sure to check your pipettes and don't touch the pipette tip with culturing flask mouth.