What are the different types of contamination in cell culture?
Table of Contents
What are the different types of contamination in cell culture?
Cell Culture Contamination
- Bacterial Contamination.
- Mold & Virus Contamination.
- Mycoplasma Contamination.
- Yeast Contamination.
What contamination looks like cell culture?
If a culture is contaminated with aerobic bacteria, then the medium will become acidic and appear yellow. Most cases of bacterial contamination in the cell culture laboratory are caused by aerobes. However, if the bacteria are anaerobic, the contamination will cause the medium to become basic and will appear pink.
What does contaminated culture media look like?
If your media contains phenol red: look for changes in the color of your media as this indicates pH changes. If it starts to go orange/yellow, you may have a problem (either contamination or you need to replenish your cell’s media supply more frequently). Look for signs of turbidity or cloudiness of the media.
What is cultural contamination?
Cultural contamination was the alteration of a culture’s natural development by an outside influence or exposure to a more technologically advanced society. Cultural contamination could be sociological or technological and could have drastic consequences.
What is contaminated culture?
A culture in which bacteria from a foreign source have infiltrated the growth medium.
What are black dots in cell culture?
Black swimming dots (BSDs) — the biological UFO in cell culture — have perplexed biologists for decades. BSDs are extremely tiny dots found in dishes of cultured cells. It is still controversial on their origin and identity.
What does yeast contamination look like in cell culture?
Usually when you have yeast contamination it is very obvious. The media on the cells looks turbid, has a pinkish color, smells bad and under a microscope you see a cloud of particles obscuring your cells.
How do you identify cell contamination?
How do you identify bacterial and fungal contamination in cell culture?
- An increase of turbidity of the antibiotic-free medium. In other words, the color of the medium becomes cloudy.
- A change in pH.
- A distinct shape under the light microscope.
What does contamination look like?
Bacterial contamination is easily detected by visual inspection of the culture within a few days of it becoming infected; Infected cultures usually appear cloudy (i.e., turbid), sometimes with a thin film on the surface. Sudden drops in the pH of the culture medium is also frequently encountered.
How do you know if agar is contaminated?
Visible Signs of Contamination
- Yeasts/bacteria will typically have a white/yellowish milky appearance.
- Molds will have a somewhat similar look to mycelium but will spread very quickly and will turn green or black.
- Avoid opening agar plates that have dark green, white or black powdery appearance around clean agar plates.
Why is cell culture contaminated?
Unintentional use of nonsterile supplies, media or solutions during routine cell culture procedures is a major source of biological contaminants. These products may be contaminated as a result of improper sterilization or storage, or may become contaminated during use.
What is cross contamination in cell culture?
Cell cross-contamination in cell cultures is a common problem during cell culturing and use. Contamination invalidates research results, compromises the comparison of results between laboratories, reduces reproducibility required in industrial production of cell lines, and may lead to unusable therapeutic products.
What does fungal contamination look like?
If the contamination is substantial, the medium will become turbid and cloudy, and spots on the vessel surface may appear. Sometimes fungal contaminations will cause a pH increase of the medium, resulting in phenol-red containing media to appear pink. Fungal colonies floating on the medium surface.
How do you know if a cell line is contaminated?
What does contamination look like on agar?
Visible Signs of Contamination It will have the appearance of a white fuzziness originating from the area of inoculation. Molds, bacteria, and yeasts will appear on the plate in small spots but will spread quickly. Yeasts/bacteria will typically have a white/yellowish milky appearance.
What do contaminated agar plates look like?
Checking for Contamination Look for signs of fungal contamination. Fungal contamination will appear as fuzzy, filamentous, or hair-like growths, and should be visible to the unaided eye. Fungal contamination often occurs right along the edge of an agar plate.
