BINDER Carbon Dioxide Incubators Feature Anti-Contamination Concept

The cultivation of animal cells provides valuable findings in medical research. Contamination is certainly the biggest, and most-feared, problem in cell cultivation. The humid heat in the incubator does not only offer the ideal growth conditions for cells – mycoplasma, bacteria, and fungi also thrive and often grow much faster than the actual cell culture. If and when contamination is discovered, it is generally too late. The contaminants often spread undetected to other cultures and the research project that has taken weeks and months of work is destroyed in one fell swoop.

In order to prevent this, BINDER GmbH, the world's largest specialist in simulation chambers for scientific and industrial laboratories, has developed a unique concept to fight potential contamination, which has been proving its worth for decades. The BINDER anti-contamination concept is characterized by the following main features:

Sterilization program with 180 °C hot air – “biological reset” option

No forced convection in the interior to avoid direct airborne germ contamination

Humidity management to avoid contamination caused by condensation on the interior walls

No corners, edges, or fixtures (except shelves, wire rack, and water pan) for convenient cleaning and disinfection of the incubator chamber

However, there are still two zones inside a BINDER CO2 incubator that require special attention: the water pan and its standing surface (humid/wet conditions) as well as the shelf which forms the contact surface for the cell culture vessel.

Users who take great care and have good experience of copper incubators can now choose an additional safety feature for Series C BINDER CO2 incubators. With the new copper accessory set consisting of three shelves and a water pan, it is specifically these two difficult zones that have been made from copper, a material that has a demonstrable biocidal effect. As the cell culture vessels stand directly on the copper shelves, any spillages of culture medium cannot cause contamination growth or foster cross-contamination. The copper surfaces of the water pan prevent contamination growth both in the humidification water itself and on the potentially damp contact surfaces between the water pan and the base of the tank. The copper equipment reduces the time and effort required for cleaning the incubator while continuing to ensure a high level of resistance to contamination.