LaCava Research Wiki

Background

Late 2019, a triple stack of the Multitron was installed at Rockefeller and a single unit in Groningen. These allow for large-scale cell culturing.

How to use

• No addatives must be added to humidification water
• How to handle UV light has to be decided. They recommend to run it contineously but this requires replacing the bulb every year.

Cleaning

• Cleaning can be done using 70% EtOH

Q+A with Infors Europe

How often do we need to check / recalibrate temperature / CO2 / humidity? I had some bad experiences with sensors that are reading out incorrectly and that we did not realize since the numbers shown were the ones we expected to see.

We advise to do this every year. For most customers we do this during the annual maintenance.

I was shown how to clean spills in the incubator using the ‘spigot’ on the left side - but for general cleaning purposes on the inside what are the approved cleaning solutions - here are things I might consider:

(a) distilled / deionized water - I guess these are usual - is there any preference/distinction for this purpose? Can this be ‘lightly soapy?’

(b) 20% or 70% ethanol - any issues with either of these? 20% EtOH is bacteriostatic but 70% is sterilizing, so, we prefer to work with this - it might involve spritzing surfaces inside the incubator and or wetting paper towels and swiping surfaces.

(c) 10% bleach - we would use this only for the most stubborn spills or contaminations - is it permissible?

See document below

The UV light system - how to properly use it is not clear.

—> my understanding is that this system purifies the air inside the incubator (which is under circulation?)

Yes, the UV-light is installed behind the back panel and is sterilizing the air which is circulated by the fans.

—> should one use the UV light continuously or only periodically? For example, only after opening the door?

Up to you. You can safely run it during cultivation is you want. You will see some blue light emerging from behind the back panel, but this is only the visible spectrum emitted by the UV lamp. The UV-spectrum is practically not reflected by any surface, hence there is no danger for the culture.

—> the light is not any kind of timer? It is either ON or OFF and the switch has to be engaged manually?

There is a manual switch on the side of the Multitron, next to the power switch. There is no timer and the running time is not summarized on the controller.

—> About air - how does room air get into the system? Obviously opening the door allows room air in - is that the only place? I am accustomed to incubators having an outlet that usually have a sterile filter on it. The outlet is necessary because CO2 maintenance requires gas be entered into the chamber - thus pressure must escape. Usually a filter is placed at the escape port to avoid contaminated room air entering the incubator. Is it the same on this unit? Could you explain clearly?

There is no defined outlet with sterile filter. The air leaves the housing because it is not fully sealed. The risk of getting particles into the incubator through these tiny openings is very small.

—> lastly - how often does the bulb need to be changed.

Depends on the usage – life time is about 9000 hours, in continuous operation this is a bit more than a year.

Bottom line is, please explain to us how air circulation in the incubator works and the best practice for UV use.

We recommend to run the UV light continuously and exchange it every year.

My understanding is the water chamber for humidity maintenance should be at least ~1/2 full - and that distilled water is appropriate - what about de-ionized (e.g. miliQ) water?

—> my understanding is that no anti-mycotic / bactericide or other chemical needs to be added (normally we add the “blue stuff” [aquaclean] to humidity pans).

Please see enclosed an abstract of the relevant pages for humidification and water quality from the operating manual. This is the manual for Multitron Pro but this information did not change with the introduction of the new Multitron.

Use of additives is not permitted! Because we evaporate the water, any salts and resins will stay in the steam pod and clog it sooner or later. Volatile components can come into contact with the cultures and may have a negative influence. All the relevant information is in the Operating Manual.

Manuals

Cleaning and cleaning solutions

Humidification

UV-light

Full user manual