I have observed that when I culture cells or organoids on a petri dish that are placed in an incubator (with humidity, 37 C and 5% CO2) on an orbital shaker at 80 rpm, there is more water condensation on the lid of the petri dishes then when I use it for static cells or organoïds culture. Do somebody know why? Does this mean that there is more evaporation of the culture media when I cultured my cells on an orbital shaker (and as a consequence, the concentration of products in the culture medium changes)?
Hey Thiery,
Yeah, unfortunately there can be alot of condensation on the lids of these dishes when placed on orbital shakers. I think it might be due to increased evaporation of the media and maybe a cooler dish lid, all contributing. I usually put an empty plate at the bottom of the stack, which significantly reduces the amount of condensation forming on the bottom plates.
Any condensation that does form i just aspirate off. Definitely be meticulous when removing this condensation as its a big source of contamination if it manages to drip down the sides of the plates, and can even seal your plates shut if there is enough water.
Best,
Christopher Lovejoy
Hi Christopher,
Nice to know I am not the only one with this issue. Putting an empty plate at the bottom of the stack is a great tip, I will do that. I also try to alternate the petri dishes that are at the bottom of the stacks. I also aspirate the condensation on the lid like you said, because the water drop get bigger with time and tend to fall more easily from the lid.
I think that this increased evaporation of the media may be a significant source of variation in organoid culture, since it can alter the concentration of components in the media in different petri dishes.
Thiéry
Very well possible that you having technical difficulties maintaining either temperature and/or humidity in your incubator. I'd monitor this, if I can exclude human error:
Such as leaving the incubator door open for extended periods of time
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