I have done cell cultures in the past (during undergraduate and master's) where I used 10x PBS (for rinsing cells) directly from the manufacturer's bottle without any issues.
Now that I am doing a PhD, I am inclined to question why protocols suggest that "sterile" 1x PBS should be used for cell culturing? Why sterile and why 1x?
I understand sterility is to prevent contamination, so why does it not matter if other reagents such as media, trypsin, etc are not sterile?
The only reason to use 'sterile' PBS is when the cells will be maintained for an additional period of time. For example, when rinsing cells for splitting. Most use up their PBS stock soln quickly and it's rare that a contaminant will grow rapidly in nonsterile PBS. Use of 1X PBS as a working soln is typical as this has isotonic osmolarity or ~290 mOsmol/L vs the cell cytosol. 10X is hypertonic and will shock most cells with water efflux.
Hi Abraham, you should keep in mind that every solution you use has endotoxin in it (unless tested in QC).
It is not much of a problem when working with established cell lines, but if you are going to work with lymphocytes, the endotoxin can come back and bite you in the butt.
We made up our own PBS - autoclaved for sterilization.
It needs to be sterile as it is TC related.
Good luck!
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