Incubator

What are they and why do we use them? What types are there?

Incubators are vessels used to mimic the natural environment of your organism of choice.

A heated incubator heats an enclosed space to a specific temperature.

Shaking incubators also agitate the enclosed area to aerate any liquids inside.

Gas-controlled incubators can control the internal gaseous environment to create different environments e.g. anaerobic, methanogenic, etc.

A shaking & heated incubator is more than sufficient when starting out. If you can only get a heated incubator, this is fine - but your cells will grow slower and clump up more.

When do you use?

The incubator is used at the end of plating or inoculation with Sterile Technique to grow living cells overnight to a size that is visible to the naked eye.

The incubator may end up running more than 50% of nights in your lab and some of the days. Some models aren’t very efficient and release a lot of heat - this can make for a hot and sweaty lab!

How do you use?

Set temperature and agitation values appropriate to your protocol. Insert your samples and then start the shaking. Stop the shaking before removing samples to avoid broken glassware.

If you’re using a gas-controlled incubator you will need a gas canister specific to your protocol (e.g. CO2 canisters) and appropriate pressure monitoring valves and tubing. Find the manual online to ensure everything is within specifications.