Culture vessels

[Chococatte]

In orchid seed propagation, understand that the standard cultural vessel used for tissue culture is glass (i.e. milk bottles, canning jars, etc). Can anyone explain the advantages/disadvantages glass cultural vessels have over polystyrene, polypropylene, HDPE or clarified polypropylene culture vessels (i.e. MAGENTA® GA7)? Which is your preference for seed sowing?

[Orchidaholic]

the main difference in the vessels is if the vessel is autoclavable/microwavable. After making agar it has to be sterilized @121C(250F) for a few min to kill all fungi spores and bacteria. This can be done in a microwave or pressure cooker or autoclave. If the vessel canot tollerate the temps it can't be used unless sent to you in a [package designated as sterile. I use both plastics and glass and both seem to work well. My mother flasks are actually plastic petri dishes from PHYTOTECHLABS.com. They come sterile and the agar hast to be sterilized in another vessel before transfering to the petri dishes in the glove box cause the petri dishes cannot be autoclaved.

[Royal]

Some plastic can be autoclaved. Some will warp or become brittle over time. I bet they work great, but baby food jars are much cheaper. I'd like to try some of the Magenta B-caps (clear caps that fit baby food jars), but I'm doing ok without them.

I eat lots of peanut butter, so I have lots of those too. I can only fit four of those in my pressure cooker at a time, but I can fit 10 of the small baby food jars. My approach from the beginning has been to use what is cheap, accessible, and most practical for my unique situation. If you are looking to buy some, I can't help much. But if you're looking to keep costs down, talk to your friends with the new baby. Even if you just buy them new, Gerber is just about 60 cents per jar.

[John D.]

Starbucks cold coffee drink bottles work standing up like a tall baby food jar and also laying down for more surface area. The lids are like baby food jars but unfortunatly not the same size. They also fit a #8 rubber stopper if the lids rust away.

[Royal]

Originally Posted by John D.

Starbucks cold coffee drink bottles work standing up like a tall baby food jar and also laying down for more surface area. The lids are like baby food jars but unfortunatly not the same size. They also fit a #8 rubber stopper if the lids rust away.

I've use those Starbuck's bottles too! Just like a mini milk bottle. Great minds do think alike. They are too tall for my small p-cooker so I have to wedge them in diagonally. Only 2 per run, so I try to stick with something that fits a little more efficiently. The lids fit very well too, unlike some generic baby food lids that give me trouble sometimes. Good tip on the stoppers too. Maybe I'll have to get a bigger p-cooker!

[John D.]

I use an "All American" model 915 that I have had for more years than I care to remember, large enough to hold 15 quart mason jars.

[Royal]

JohnD, I'm using one my mother-in-law had when my wife was a baby. Well made back then, I guess.

Chococatte, I snapped a few pics so you can kind of get an idea. I prefer using the small baby food jars for sowing. They are basically XL petri dishes with lids. For replate flasks, It really depends on what your intentions are. As John said, the starbucks bottles work fine, they rest flatter than a mason jar when laid on its side. For my purposes, I don't worry about surface area, or wasting media. I just like to try things different ways to find out what works for me. I find it more convenient to work with upright jars (lids on top). I work on a VERY small scale. The bigger labs have to maximize space, so surface area really matters for them. I'm just all about quality, not merely quantity.

[littlefrog]

I'm using baby food jars for sowing, but they do tend to contaminate after a while. The lids don't seal all that well. I might switch to better caps, or just go with petri dishes in the future.

Some people worry about chemicals leaching from plastic. It depends on your plastic. All I can say is that most of the reagent bottles and flasks (and everything else) I used when doing mammalian cell culture were all plastic, and we never really saw any effects. Just my semi-professional opinion, but I don't think there is going to be much effect from leaching. At least none that you will notice. I do prefer glass vessels though, at least for replates, because I love the sound glass makes when I hit it with a hammer...

Rob

[Royal]

There are some that worry about leaching from glass too. The older 'lime glass' had this problem. The new borosilicate glass is inert. I figure, if its safe for a baby person, my baby orchids can handle it.

Rob, I have/had this problem too. Are you using Gerber bottles, or a generic? I've noticed that the brand name caps have more precise threads. The glass bottles seems to be the same.

[littlefrog]

Originally Posted by RoyalOrchids

There are some that worry about leaching from glass too. The older 'lime glass' had this problem. The new borosilicate glass is inert. I figure, if its safe for a baby person, my baby orchids can handle it.

Rob, I have/had this problem too. Are you using Gerber bottles, or a generic? I've noticed that the brand name caps have more precise threads. The glass bottles seems to be the same.

I have a little bit of both, but mostly the name brand bottles. They are kind of old, which probably doesn't help.