Sterile handling

Good laboratory practices in a cell culture lab include:

• Always wipe or spray your hands and work area with 70% ethanol, as well as all bottles, flasks, plates, and disposable serological pipettes before placing them in the cell culture hood.
• Avoid pouring media and reagents directly from bottles or flasks.
• Make sure you use sterile serological pipettes (either glass or disposable) and a pipette controller to transfer liquids. Make sure the tips are sterile when using micropipettes and do not reuse tips or pipettes to reduce the risk of contamination.
• Do not keep anything open if not in use inside the hood and cap all bottles, tubes, and flasks properly.
• Never open anything outside the hood.
• Be vigilant and if you are not sure if a tip or a pipette has touched something not sterile, bin it and get a new, sterile one.