Views: 10 Author: Site Editor Publish Time: 2024-05-06 Origin: Site
Purchase and Use of CO2 Incubator
Over the past few decades, the fields of cellular biology, molecular biology, pharmacology, and other research areas have made amazing strides, and the use of technology in these areas has had to keep pace. Although the typical life science laboratory equipment has changed dramatically, the CO2 incubator is still a major part of the laboratory, and its use is ultimately aimed at maintaining and promoting better cell and tissue growth. However, with advances in technology, their functions and operations have become more precise, reliable and convenient. Today, the CO2 incubator has become one of the most commonly used and routine instruments in laboratories and has been widely used in research and production in medicine, immunology, genetics, microbiology, agricultural sciences, and pharmacology.
CO2 incubator is used to create an environment for better cell/tissue growth by controlling the surrounding environmental conditions. The result of the condition control is a stable condition: such as constant acidity/alkalinity (pH: 7.2-7.4), stable temperature (37°C), high relative humidity (95%), and stable CO2 level (5%), which is why researchers in the above fields are so enthusiastic about using the convenient, stable and reliable CO2 incubator. researchers are so keen to use the convenience of a stable and reliable CO2 incubator. In addition, with the addition of CO2 concentration control and the use of a microcontroller for precise temperature control of the incubator, the success rate and efficiency of cultivation of biological cells and tissues, etc., have been improved. In short, CO2 incubator is a new type of incubator that cannot be replaced by ordinary electric thermostat incubator.
Users are most concerned about the reliability, control of contaminants and ease of use of the CO2 incubator, which controls three basic variables related to the simulated in vivo environment: stable CO2 level, temperature and relative humidity. To have a stable culture environment, we must consider the influence of these three aspects of the factors, the purchase of these “top priority” should have a certain understanding in order to choose the right instrument for their own. However, some other aspects of the “small” factors should not be ignored, because these will affect the use of the instrument value and life. When choosing, it should be considered from all aspects of the factors.
Temperature Control:
Maintaining a constant temperature inside the incubator is important for maintaining healthy cell growth. When shopping for a CO2 incubator, there are two types of heating configurations to choose from: gas-jacketed heating and water-jacketed heating. While both types of heating systems are accurate and reliable, they both have their pros and cons. Water-jacketed incubators maintain a constant temperature by surrounding the interior of the chamber with a separate hot water compartment. The hot water is circulated through the chamber by natural convection and the heat is transferred to the interior of the chamber by radiation to maintain a constant temperature. The unique water-jacket design has its advantages: water is an excellent insulator, and in the event of a power failure, the water-jacket system is more reliable in maintaining accurate and stable temperatures inside the incubator for a longer period of time (4-5 times longer than air-jacketed systems). If your experimental environment is not very stable (e.g., there are power restrictions or frequent power outages) and you need to maintain stable incubation conditions for a long period of time, the water-jacketed design of the CO2 incubator is the best choice for you. The gas-jacketed heating system is to heat the gas inside the incubator directly through the heater inside the incubator. The gas jacket design is able to quickly restore the temperature stability of the incubator in case of frequent temperature changes caused by frequent opening and closing of the door. Therefore, compared with the water-jacket type, the gas-jacket type is characterized by faster heating and faster temperature recovery than the water-jacket type, which is especially beneficial for short-term cultures and cultures that require frequent opening and closing of the door. In addition, the gas-jacketed design is simpler for the user than the water-jacketed (the water-jacketed requires the tank to be filled, emptied and cleaned, and the operation of the tank has to be constantly monitored). When purchasing an air-jacketed incubator, it is important to note that in order not to interfere with the incubation, the incubator should also have a fan to ensure the circulation and circulation of air inside the incubator, and that this device will help to restore the temperature, CO2 and relative humidity inside the incubator quickly.
In addition, some types of CO2 incubators also have an outer door and auxiliary heating system, which heats the inner door to provide the cells with a good humidity environment, to ensure that the osmotic pressure of the cells to maintain a balance, and can effectively prevent the formation of condensation to maintain the humidity and temperature inside the incubator. This auxiliary system is essential if your culture environment needs to be precisely controlled.
CO2 Control:
CO2 concentration detection can be measured by two control systems - an infrared sensor (IR) or a thermal conductivity sensor (TC). When the door of the CO2 incubator is opened, CO2 leaks out of the chamber, at which point the sensor detects a decrease in CO2 concentration and responds promptly by re-injecting CO2 to bring it back to the original preset level. The Thermal Conductivity Sensor (TC) monitors the CO2 concentration by measuring the change in electrical resistance between two electric regulators (one regulator is exposed to the chamber environment and the other is closed). Changes in the CO2 concentration inside the chamber change the resistance between the two thermostats, which causes the sensors to react to regulate the CO2 level.A disadvantage of the TC control system is that changes in the temperature and relative humidity inside the chamber can affect the accuracy of the sensors. When the door is opened frequently, not only the CO2 level, but also the temperature and relative humidity fluctuate greatly, thus affecting the accuracy of the TC sensors. This control system is not suitable when precise incubation conditions are required and the incubator door is opened frequently. Infrared (IR) sensors are an alternative control system that provides more accurate CO2 control than the TC system, and detects CO2 levels using an optical sensor. the IR system consists of an infrared emitter and a sensor, which detects a reduction in infrared light when some of the infrared emitted by the emitter is absorbed by the CO2 in the chamber, and the amount of infrared light absorbed corresponds to the amount of infrared light absorbed by the chamber. The amount of infrared light absorbed corresponds to the level of CO2 in the chamber, and thus the concentration of CO2 in the chamber can be derived. Because the IR system is not affected by changes in temperature and relative humidity, it is more accurate than the TC system, and is particularly suited to cell cultures that require frequent opening of the incubator door. However, this system is more expensive than the TC system, and this should be considered in conjunction with budgetary considerations.
Relative Humidity Control:
The control of relative humidity in the incubator is very important to maintain adequate humidity levels to ensure that culture failure does not occur due to excessive drying. Large CO2 incubators use steam generators or misters to control RH levels, while most medium and small size incubators generate moisture by evaporation from humidity control panels (humidity pans) (which generate RH levels up to 95-98%). Some incubators have a humidity reservoir that holds water on the heated control panel, which enhances evaporation, and this reservoir can increase RH levels by 97-98%. However, this system is also more complex, due to the increased complexity of the structure of some of the unpredictable problems can arise in the course of use.
Microprocessor control systems:
Every user wants to use the instrument to be convenient and easy to use, the microprocessor control system and other functional accessories (such as high-temperature automatic adjustment and alarm device, CO2 alarm device, password protection settings, automatic calibration system, etc.) are used to make the CO2 incubator operation and control are very simple. The microprocessor control system is the operating system that maintains the temperature, humidity and CO2 concentration in the incubator at a steady state. For example, the PIC microprocessor control system can strictly control the gas concentration and reduce its loss to a very low level to ensure that the incubation environment is constant, and can ensure that the temperature inside the incubator is accurate during long-term incubation, and has an LED display to set and correct the temperature and CO2 concentration. Different microprocessor systems although the name is not the same, but its principle and control effect is not very different, do not have to care too much about the difference in their names when you buy, the key is to feel easy to use, easy to operate, and to be able to achieve the required control accuracy.
In addition, I think an alarm system is also indispensable, it allows you to know the situation of the incubator in a timely manner, and make a response, thus minimizing the loss to ensure the continuity of the experiment. Some incubators have sound / light alarm device, temperature changes up to ± 0.5 ℃, or CO2 concentration changes up to ± 5%, that is, it will be automatically alarmed; some have CO2 concentration abnormal alarm display function. These devices are designed to facilitate the user to reduce the tedious and boring experimental process.
Contamination control:
Contamination is a major factor in the failure of cell culture, so manufacturers of CO2 incubators have designed a number of different devices to reduce and prevent contamination from occurring, the main way is to minimize the areas and surfaces where microorganisms can grow, and combined with automatic decontamination devices to effectively prevent contamination from occurring. For example, in view of the CO2 incubator in the use of the process will sometimes be accompanied by the growth of mold, in order to ensure that the incubator from contamination and to ensure that the biological cleanliness of the instrument box, some companies have developed and designed an enhanced CO2 incubator with ultraviolet cleaning function; there are also companies to design a unique copper shell HEPA filter can filter the air inside the incubator, can be filtered out 99.97% of the particles of more than 0.3um The HEPA filter is designed to remove 99.97% of particles above 0.3um and effectively kills microbial particles that are trapped in the filter; in addition, the automatic sterilizing device enables the temperature inside the incubator to reach 90°C to kill contaminating microorganisms, which when combined with the HEPA system can greatly reduce contamination. These devices are essential for cell culture, but which cleaning device to choose? Of course, the one with more and better features is the most suitable, but the price will also rise. If funds are limited, can only choose a cheaper one, then you should use some disinfectant and decontaminant, often disinfection and sterilization, can also achieve the effect of expensive instruments, just a little more trouble. In short, no matter what kind of device you choose, you should always pay attention to keep the incubator clean, often clean up the box, so as to increase the service life of the instrument, and make the experiment go smoothly, to ensure the reliability of the results.
Other factors:
Each type of CO2 incubator temperature, humidity and CO2 concentration of the control range and control accuracy, average degree are different. At this point, before purchasing the instrument should have a certain understanding of their own laboratory requirements: how large is the control range? The control accuracy is very accurate, or can there be a certain range of fluctuation? Because sometimes too high precision does not seem to make much sense. Only when you have a comprehensive understanding of the products you need can you choose your best “partner”. BioTongue provides you with some specific parameters of the company's carbon dioxide incubator, from which you can get a specific comparison and analysis, there may be your preferred instrument.
The volume of the incubator is also a factor that should not be ignored, buying a small one is not enough and a large one is wasteful and takes up space. CO2 incubators are available in a wide range of volumes, including small (<40 liters), medium and large (>700 liters), and each type has a different volume to choose from. At this point, you need to have a more accurate understanding of the range of volumes you need before you buy, and on this basis, reserve a little more space to ensure that the need arises from time to time.
In addition, some carbon dioxide incubators also have many special features, such as Thermogard fan management system, thus realizing the intelligent adjustment of air flow; single-pass circulation system to ensure the uniformity of the temperature inside the incubator, but also reduce the contamination; LCD (Liquid Crystal) display system, silicone temperature sensor to measure the temperature and so on. These various accessory devices are chosen to facilitate the choice and use of the buyer.
Precautions for the use of carbon dioxide incubator:
1. the instrument should be placed on a flat ground, the environment should be clean and tidy, dry and ventilated; 2. before the instrument is used, all control switches should be in non-operating state, and the speed knob should be placed in the minimum position; 3. do not adjust the inflow gas pressure to too large a level, so as not to break the pipeline and damage to the detector; 4. close the door of the incubator, so as to avoid gas leakage, which affects the test results; 5. each time before shutting down, the control switches should be in non-operating state before cutting off the power supply; 6. Before each shutdown, each control switch should be in non-operating state before cutting off the power supply; 6. operation password settings need to be at least 3 people know, so as not to forget the password and can not open the instrument; 7. cylinders of gas need to be pure and up to standard, so as not to damage the instrument; 8. to keep the air inside the incubator is clean, and disinfected on a regular basis; 9. often pay attention to the box in the tank of distilled water in the amount of distilled water in order to maintain the relative humidity inside the box, and at the same time to avoid the evaporation of the culture solution; 10. is not suitable for use in the incubator containing Volatile chemical solvents, low concentration of explosive gases and low ignition point of the gas and toxic substances in the culture.
2. use correctly and pay attention to the maintenance of the instrument to make it in good working condition, which can prolong the service life of the instrument; 12. after the refrigeration system stops working, use a soft cloth to clean the working chamber and the glass observation window; 13. during the continuous working period of the instrument, it should be inspected once in every three months; check whether there are water droplets, dirt, etc. falling into the motor and exposed refrigeration components; clean up the dust and dirt on the compressor and condenser; check the fuse; and check the safety of the condenser and the condenser; and check the safety of the condenser. Dust and dirt on the compressor, condenser; check the fuse, control components and fastening screws; 14. Instrument after long-term use, natural wear and tear is a normal phenomenon, should contact the supplier for maintenance.