The aerosols are invisible to naked eyes and hence cannot be detected until it leads to contamination.Īnother source of the problem is the media, used for subculturing, which is available in both liquid and powdered forms. These aerosols generated will enter the culture medium during subculturing processes or from the air if the cell line remains exposed for a longer time. The aerosols that are generated (while talking or pipetting) during working in the laminar airflow are also among the leading causes of contamination. Plus, it is added to the media after autoclaving hence, there is no assurance of the serum being contamination free. The serum is nutrient-rich and also the best source for mycoplasma proliferation. Reusing the same bottle of serum again and again for each subculture can enhance the growth of mycoplasmas. Due to its turbid nature, contamination is difficult to be detected in the serum that is most commonly used for every cell culture. The serum is also a source of mycoplasma contamination. These include reusing pipettes for multiple cell lines rather than using disposable ones or reusing gloves. Mycoplasmas can spread from these sources through cross-contamination and due to poor lab techniques. Also, a constant in-flow of individuals wherever the cell cultures are kept will increase the risk of contamination. The contaminants can spread through dirty clothing, lab wears, human speech near the laminar airflow, the human scalp, sneezing, coughing, etc. Contamination by humans accounts for the largest source among those mentioned above. These include the laboratory personnel, the serum, the cell culture media, water baths, incubators, etc. The mycoplasmas enter the cell culture through various sources that are difficult to trace. Here, I will cover some of the best ways to tackle mycoplasma contamination before they enter your cell culture and what to do if you encounter mycoplasma contamination. Mycoplasma can pass through filtration methods because of its ability to change shape and the absence of a rigid cell wall. The absence of a rigid cell wall makes them resistant to antibiotics and antibacterial drugs like penicillin and streptomycin. Mycoplasmas are considered to be one of the simplest and smallest bacteria. It is estimated that mycoplasma is responsible for up to 60% of the cell culture contamination (Uphoff, 2002). They are present in most of the cell culture facilities, tissue culture labs and every cell culturist has to deal with this problem. If mycoplasmas are present in your lab, don’t be surprised. If you are reading this article then you probably suspect mycoplasma contamination in your cell culture or you are about to begin a new cell culture project. This post was contributed by guest blogger, Kaustubh Kishor Jadhav, a Research Assistant at MGMs Institute of Biosciences and Technology.
0 kommentar(er)
