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SAMPLE COLLECTION AND TRANSPORTATION SERVICE


To ensure optimal survival of any contaminants that may be in your samples, transportation on wet ice or on solid carbon dioxide is an integral part of the cell screen, cell culture and regulatory testing service. This is offered as an optional extra for other testing services.

Wet Ice

For cell cultures, wet ice is the preferred method ("Collection and Transport of Specimens" W.A. Clyde Jr. and W.M. McCormack in "Methods in Mycoplasmology" Volume 1, C3, p. 103, Academic Press) which avoids the effects of variable ambient temperatures on the viability of mycoplasmas. .

Dry Ice

For Regulatory Testing, where mycoplasma testing is one of a range of tests applied to any given lot, a storage temperature of -65°C or below may be required in which case transport on solid carbon dioxide would be needed. Supply of dry ice should be arranged by the customer.

Our cool box delivery and collection service

Containers will be delivered by courier with an Advice Note on the use of the contents and a specimen card. (See packing instructions). Please advise if a box is required for the following Tuesday, by Thursday in any week.

On the day of collection, cell cultures should ideally be in the exponential phase of growth and preferably in 25 cm² flasks. There is space in the container for several vessels of this size.  We ideally require 3mL sample minimum for the cell screen test and 10mL sample minimum for the cell culture test. The collection day for Cell Screen and Cell Culture tests is Tuesday.

Approximately 2L of crushed ice is required to package samples in our coolboxes.

Containers with samples will be collected and delivered to our laboratories the following morning for test initiation.

Please note that only pathogens belonging to Groups 1 and 2* can be carried. Where testing of cultures exposed to Groups 3 or 4 is required, please contact  Mycoplasma Experience.

* Advisory Committee on Dangerous Pathogens "Categorisation of pathogens according to hazard and categories of containment" 1984. HMSO.

Click here to link to instructions for packaging samples on wet ice or dry ice.

Mycoplasma Experience Ltd.                               Phone: 01883 740185                    Email: mexp@mycoplasma-exp.com