Hi Christophe-
One of my students adapted a little cooler meant for carrying drinks to this purpose.  He made a little holder, just big enough for the 60-mm petri dish, and attached it to a plate that matched the dimensions of the inner lining.  Then he filled the cooler with sand, put it in a 60 degree oven (Centigrade) and brought it out just before loading the culture dishes for transport.  By carefully adjusting the composition of the plate, he could get the temperature on the plate to exactly 36-38 degrees, which the cells tolerated fine.  Our cells did not like to cool down, but they didn't mind the pH going high.  He just transported them in the dishes and medium they were already sitting in.  He allowed them 2 hours in the incubator on the other end, to equilibrate the pH, and they were ready to go.  They would stand an hour of transport in the carrier.
carol
Center for Microscopy & Microanalysis
Bowling Green State University
________________________________________
From: Confocal Microscopy List [[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Pablo German [[log in to unmask]]
Sent: Wednesday, February 04, 2009 6:00 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: Cell culture transport (one hour drive) possible ?

Hi Christophe,

I've been trying to transport HEK293 cell cultures but they were not making it in good condition. I've been advised to use a carbonated buffer such as Hanks' solution (HBSS). I haven't tried it yet though. I'm as interested as you are to see what solutions are possible.

Regards,
Pablo

2009/2/5 Christophe Leterrier <[log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]>>
Dear imaging specialists,

I'm wondering if tranporting cell cultures (low-density rat
hippocampal neurons, to be more specific) would be feasible from my
lab to an imaging facility that is between half an hour and an hour
away. I'm surprized how little information I could get on the web. Do
such thing as a portable incubator exist ? Do any of you have a
low-tech / low-price advice to give ? I'd be glad to hear your
suggestions.

Thanks a lot,

Christophe Leterrier
Ionic channels neurobiology Lab
UMR641 - Marseille, France



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