Introduction
Aspiration, removal of a liquid or gas by means of suction, also known as waste suction, is a physical operation that removes or collects liquid from one space into another. It utilizes a vacuum pump to create a lower pressure in the vacuum bottle, and afterwards liquid is drawn and collected in the vacuum bottle due to the pressure difference.. Aspiration is a common skill of cell culture process. In the case of adherent cultures, the media can be removed directly by aspiration, and then is replaced. Media changes in non-adherent cultures involve centrifuging the culture and resuspending the cells in fresh media.
Cell culture is the process by which cells are grown under controlled conditions, generally outside their natural environment. After the cells of interest have been isolated from living tissue, they can subsequently be maintained under carefully controlled conditions. These conditions vary for each cell type, but generally consist of a suitable vessel with a substrate or medium that supplies the essential nutrients (amino acids, carbohydrates, vitamins, minerals), growth factors, hormones, and gases (CO2, O2), and regulates the physio-chemical environment (pH buffer, osmotic pressure, temperature). Most cells require a surface or an artificial substrate (adherent or monolayer culture) whereas others can be grown free floating in culture medium (suspension culture).
Methods
Isolation of cells → Maintaining cells in culture → Select a culture medium → Select a serum → Add antibiotics
The historical development and methods of cell culture are closely interrelated to those of tissue culture and organ culture. In practice, the term “cell culture” now refers to the culturing of cells derived from multicellular eukaryotes, especially animal cells, in contrast with other types of culture that also grow cells, such as plant tissue culture, fungal culture, and microbiological culture (of microbes).
Cells can be grown either in suspension or adherent cultures. Some cells naturally live in suspension, without being attached to a surface. There are also cell lines that have been modified to be able to survive in suspension cultures, so they can be grown to a higher density than adherent conditions would allow.
Aspiration is conducted with a vacuum pump, vacuum bottle (i.e., waste collection bottle), tubing, and suction kit. For optimum and more efficient operation, choose appropriate suction fittings based on liquid container, such as Petri dish, 96-well plate, cell culture flask, etc.
Modest vacuum is sufficient for aspiration; deep vacuum is not much helpful for aspiration rate but increasing the risk of liquid evaporation and resulted in condensation in the pump and releasing to working environment.
Liquid aspiration is normally used with low concentration disinfectants and steam sterilization (i.e., autoclave) is required, therefore, liquid contact parts made of polypropylene (PP), polyethersulfone (PES), or borosilicate glass are recommended. Moreover, Rocker’s suction system meets all above requirements and includes all essential accessories.
Applications
- Cell culture aspiration, such as growth media, PBS buffer
- Fluid aspiration in ELISA, such as washing buffer
- Laboratory waste suction, such as supernatant from centrifugation
