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Thanks, what a good solution for the humidity problem in an open dish.
Judy

>>> [log in to unmask] 02/25/03 06:10PM >>>
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Dear Judy,

I use a premixed 5% CO2 /air mixture, the gas company makes up to order.
They also sell a stock 5%CO2 / oxygen. As my incubator recirculates, I
don't want 95% O2 in contact with the heater element for fire safety
reasons.

It is not necessary to fill the whole chamber with your CO2 mixture.
Just place a Petri-dish lid over your specimen and have a fine gas line
(I use 0.96mm PE tubing) very gently bubbling under the Petri-dish.


Or better still grab a large Petri-dish, cut a hole in the bottom to
accommodate your cell bath. Build up a water-proof "dam wall" around the
hole with silicone sealant, to make a moat. Fill the moat with water and
cotton wool. This will keep the small chamber at saturated humidity.
Bubble your gas mixture very slowly into the water in the moat.


_________________________________
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               Silicon dam 


Stephen H. Cody,

Microscopy Manager,
Central Resource for Advanced Microscopy,
Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research,
Post Office Royal Melbourne Hospital,
Parkville, Victoria 3050, Australia.

Tel:   +61 3 9341 3155 (BH) 
        +61 3 9341 3158 (@work AH) 
Fax:  +61 3 9341 3104
email: [log in to unmask] 
http://www.ludwig.edu.au/labs/confocal.html 


> -----Original Message-----
> From: Judy Trogadis [mailto:[log in to unmask]] 
> Sent: Wednesday, 26 February 2003 6:48 AM
> To: [log in to unmask] 
> Subject: live cell imaging
> 
> Search the CONFOCAL archive at
> http://listserv.acsu.buffalo.edu/cgi-bin/wa?S1=confocal 
> 
> Hello Confocalists:
> 
> I have a question for those doing live fluorescent cell imaging in a
> controlled environment over a period of many hours:
> 
> We have a plexiglass incubator installed around the stage of a Nikon
> inverted microscope, setup for live cell imaging and are looking for a
> device to both regulate and measure the amount of CO2 inside the
chamber.
> Does anyone know of such a product? Phenol red in culture media can
> interfere with optical quality, yet we have to maintain a stable pH in
the
> solution. I prefer not to have a probe directly in the dish because
often
> the dish will be closed, therefore, measuring the atmosphere is more
> practical.
> 
> Also, thinking about which gas to use, I thought of a pure CO2 tank
but
> someone said it may make the environment hypoxic if the exhaust is too
> close to the dish. If the end of the tube (CO2 is bubbled through
water)
> is too distant from the dish, the gas can escape through numerous gaps
in
> the setup and we'll be going through tanks on a daily basis. Would a
5%
> CO2/air mixture be better?
> 
> Thanks for any help
> Judy
> 
> Judy Trogadis
> Bio-Imaging Coordinator
> St. Michael's Hospital, 8Queen
> 30 Bond St.
> Toronto, ON M5B 1W8
> Canada
> ph:  416-864-6060  x6337
> pager: 416-685-9219
> fax: 416-864-6043
> [log in to unmask]