Flask Sterilization

[girldesign]

I do not own a pressure cooker or autoclave, or have access to one... I have been wondering if anyone has ever tried a placing the flasks in a hot water bath, like with canning jam, to sterilize them?

[Halloamey]

You can sterilize empty glass ware and metal objects in a simple oven at 220 oC for 3 hours. But unfortunately for media steam sterilization in a pressure cooker or an autoclave is the only way. Media has to get to a temperature of 121 oC for atleast 15 to 20 minutes to be completely sterilized and without without pressure that temperature cannot be attained. One other way which I have personally used is the use of a microwave oven. First steam the microwave by boiling some water in it for about 5 to 10 minutes. Then I added media (150 ml) to my bottles and then microwaved them on high (900 w) for 3 minutes. It worked for my dendrobium and phal bud cultures, but the test was performed on a statistically insignificant sample size (8 bottles) so the results do not infer much. Hope it helps.

[Brutal_Dreamer]

You can sterilize empty glass ware and metal objects in a simple oven at 220 oC for 3 hours. But unfortunately for media steam sterilization in a pressure cooker or an autoclave is the only way. Media has to get to a temperature of 121 oC for atleast 15 to 20 minutes to be completely sterilized and without without pressure that temperature cannot be attained. One other way which I have personally used is the use of a microwave oven. First steam the microwave by boiling some water in it for about 5 to 10 minutes. Then I added media (150 ml) to my bottles and then microwaved them on high (900 w) for 3 minutes. It worked for my dendrobium and phal bud cultures, but the test was performed on a statistically insignificant sample size (8 bottles) so the results do not infer much. Hope it helps.

Thanks Amey!

cheers,
BD

[girldesign]

Halloamey..thanks for such a wealth of information!! I guess I will search for a pressure cooker, and maybe try the microwave method!
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[girldesign]

Yay! My father in law got me a pressure cooker he found for cheap...so I'm now going to be sterilizing in style!
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