1.1e aseptic technique and cell culture Flashcards
What is the benefit of aseptic technique?
eliminates unwanted microbial contaminants when culturing microorganisms or cells
What does aseptic technique involve?
the sterilisation of equipment and culture media by heat or chemical means and subsequent exclusion of microbial contaminants
How can a microbial culture be started?
using an inoculum of microbial cells on an agar medium, or in a broth with suitable nutrients
What do culture media do?
promote the growth of specific types of cells and microbes
What are animal cells grown in?
medium containing growth factors from serum
What are growth factors?
proteins that promote cell growth and proliferation. Growth factors are essential for the culture of most animal cells
What is the difference between primary cell lines and tumour cell lines in culture?
primary cell lines can divide a limited number if times whereas tumour cell lines can perform unlimited divisions
What does planting out a liquid microbial culture on solid media allow?
the number of colony forming units to be counted and the density of cells in the culture to be estimated
What is often needed to achieve a suitable colony count?
serial dilution
How do you use a haemocytometer?
- apply solution to the haemocytometer
- count cells within squares, including those on the bottom or right line
What is a haemocytometer used for?
used for manual cell counting
What is vital staining used for?
it is required to identify and count viable cells
