I used falcon tubes instead of cryovials for the preservation of microbial cultures.
As cryovials were expensive for me to buy So, instead I used falcon tubes.
But I'm looking for the scientific reason or say difference between cryovials and falcon tube preservation materials.
What are pros and cons of cryovials and flacon tubes?
What If someone asked me about these preserving materials I used especially falcon tubes,
How should I justify that I used cryovials or falcon tubes because of blah blah.....?
From experience.
Cryovials are more durable and tend to last alot longer than falcon as they are designed to last longer than falcon tubes since falcon tubes tend to break over time.
Also falcon tubes take up more space.
hello Nasir Ali Khan
I have used Eppendorf tubes 2ml for the preservation of cultures. I have stored them in -80 for around a year without any issue, but falcons don't last that long.
falcons tend to break at 7000 RPM and above in centrifuge , -75 degree Celcius and below. It is best to use a cryo vial instead of a falcon. if u cannot afford a cryo, it is better to use an eppendorf tube.
Nasir Ali Khan Falcon tube is not recommended for preservation, because it takes more space, also falcons are more prone to contamination when you are going to revive your culture because of its high surface area. Also more sensitive to freezing temperature as compared to cryovials. You can use epindorf instead
normally we use cryovials, but sometimes we use falcon tubes, which is sterial and withstand high temperature.
You can simply use regular 1.5ml/2ml Eppendorf tubes. The only downside, less writing space on the side. One more thing, for cyanobacteria DMSO is used rather than glycerol.
The best option is to use PP-made 2ml Eppendorf Tubes as a glycerol stock for microbial culture. It is durable for long time preservation and needs less space.
In my lab, we mostly preserve our biological samples either at - 4°C(master plates) or at - 20°C (glycerol stocks). Autoclaved/sterile falcons tubes and 2 ml Eppendorfs are usually the preferred choice. We don't use - 80° C very often, but I suppose 2 ml Eppendorfs fair quite well at that temperature too.
In order to preserve the microbial culture, you can prefer eppendorfs (2ml). Prepare the glycerol stocks and preserve it in -20°C. The only drawback of using eppendorfs is that it does not have enough writing space. Both, eppendorfs and falcons are the preferred options but falcons occupy large space.
In my lab, we mostly store our microbial cultures either in soft agar covered with liquid sterile paraffin(molecular grade heavy/light) kept at 10°C to 12°C temperature or use glycerol stocks (70:30 or 80:20 ratio of LB broth & molecular grade glycerol) in 2 ml autoclaved cryovials & preserve it in -20°C. The advantage of storing culture in soft agar is culture can withstand if temperature much fluctuates also & It is durable for long time preservation if the surface of the agar properly covered with paraffin.
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