Autoclaves keep organisms clinging to life on the Antarctic Peninsula

Scientists from the British Antarctic Survey (BAS) are striving to understand how global warming and environmental change can affect the survival of marine and terrestrial Antarctic organisms with the aid of three Swiftlock autoclaves from Astell Scientific.

Dr Kevin Hughes, Environmental Research and Monitoring Manager at Rothera Research Station, explained: “Around 130 BAS personnel descend on Rothera every summer to perform maintenance work and collect scientific data and samples to take back to our Cambridge laboratories for analysis.” Following a devastating fire in 2002, Rothera’s Bonner laboratory was completely rebuilt and fitted with new equipment, which included a Swiftlock Compact autoclave from Astell Scientific. BAS also decided to purchase two standard Swiftlock autoclaves to add to its Cambridge laboratories, a space-saving benchtop model and an ergonomic top-loading floor system.

“Autoclaves are essential for all aspects of our work, not only because they are used in for sterilising media and equipment, but also for sterilising potentially bio-hazardous material prior to disposal. We have to carefully monitor the impact of our presence here to prevent non-native species from being introduced into the delicate ecosystem and keep the Antarctic environment as unspoilt as possible.”

Autoclave reliability is paramount for BAS and the Swiftlock autoclaves fulfil its requirements perfectly. In particular, Rothera is too remote to send out a service contractor if anything goes wrong and, to complicate matters, the autoclave must be shipped to the UK twice a year to be UKAS validated so it has to be easy to transport. The Compact model is ideal for Rothera as it is small enough to be moved easily between the laboratories, yet large enough to accommodate the equivalent of eleven, one-litre Duran bottles.

All Swiftlock autoclaves are remarkably adaptable, and range from 23 litres models for tiny spaces and loads to large 330 litre models that can be custom-designed to fit any gap. Every model has a wealth of valuable features as standard, including free steaming to ensure even temperature distribution and integral cooling locks to prevent ‘media boilover’ and bottle breakage as a result of loads being removed from the autoclave too early. There’s even a handy Holdwarm feature that keeps sterilised media liquid overnight so staff don’t waste time warming it up in the morning. When combined with a variety of innovative optional extras, such as several assisted cooling options, to enable more loads to be completed per day, and a wide selection of printers and dataloggers to provide hard-copy cycle records for the quality conscious laboratory, there’s a robust Swiftlock model to suit the needs of every laboratory no matter where they are based.

“When it comes to maintaining equipment in the Antarctic, anything too complex has the potential to go wrong, so the more simply and reliably things work the better. Our Swiftlock autoclaves are dependable, straightforward to use and have proved themselves be the real workhorses of our laboratories,” concluded Kevin.