CO2 Incubator Decontamination

Hello StemSocial! I started a new career in 2024 managing grant funds for surgical research. I have worked as a lab technician for many years. Managing grant funding has been a huge learning curve for me. I'm used to doing Science! I still maintain the Fortessa flow cytometer for the department. I also do some other tasks from my previous position like filling the LN2 (liquid nitrogen) dewar and decontaminating the CO2 (carbon dioxide) incubator. I have cleaned the incubator every six months for the past five years. This post is about the steps taken to ensure the incubator is clean.

CO2 Incubator for Human Sepsis Research

It is important to keep the CO2 incubator clean. You do not want mold, yeast, or anything else for that matter, to contaminate your cell cultures. The first step is to unplug the incubator. The next step is to remove everything, including all the shelving. There is about 1-2 liters of water left in the bottom of the incubator that needs to be removed as well before the decontamination cycle can be started. I use a 25mL serological pipette to remove most of the water and then wipe up the rest with paper towels. I always wear gloves while cleaning the incubator.

The inside of the incubator

Once the water is removed, I clean the inside as well as the shelving with a vinegar-based cleaner. I then add 350mL of deionized water to the bottom and replace the shelves. The decontamination cycle is ready to begin. With the door open, I plug the equipment back into the outlet. After about 30 seconds there will be a beep and then it is time to push the decontamination button. This cycle will last for 25 hours and the temperature will increase to 90 degrees Celcius. I then close the door and wait for the timer to countdown.

The next day, after 25 hours have passed, I stop the cycle by pressing the decontamination button. The equipment needs to be unplugged again. The 350mL of water added for the cycle needs to be removed. Again, I used a serological pipette to remove the water. The next step is to add 2-3 liters of sterile water to the bottom of the incubator. The last step is to plug the incubator back into the outlet and press the auto-start cycle which lasts 7 hours. I check the incubator again after this cycle to make sure it reads 37 degrees Celcius and 5% CO2. Now the incubator is all clean for another 6 months!

All of the pictures were taken with my cellphone camera. Have a great day!