Biological contamination |
MitoPedia O2k and high-resolution respirometry:
O2k-Open Support
Description
Biological contamination may be caused by microbial growth in the O2k chamber or in the experimental medium. It should not be confused with other kinds of chamber contamination mentioned in Cleaning the glass chamber.
- Biological contamination of the chamber is detected as a high O2 flux in a closed chamber, measured in an O2k-chamber test: QC2: Instrumental O2 background.
- The problem can be solved by first cleaning the chamber by chemical sterilization (70 % ethanol with 30 % water; not 100 % ethanol) and test with a freshly prepared experimental medium, such as MiR05. Make sure the 70% ethanol does not contain any additives; e.g., 70 % ethanol used in hospital settings may contain antiseptics (information provided by Garcia-Roves PM). If repeated washing and storage with 70 % ethanol does not remove a biological contamination, the glass chamber has to be cleaned as described for protein contamination under Cleaning the glass chamber by removing the glass chamber from the O2k and using a strong acid.