The capacity to establish and examine cultures is enabled by conventional incubation equipment because personnel can maintain appropriate development and adjust temperature and humidity conditions for cell growth.
The incorporation of carbon dioxide (CO2) has advanced the research. The demand for incubation equipment and services has been extended by developments in in vitro fertilisation (IVF) over the last 20 years.
This huge growth in the market has also meant that incubator manufacturers and designers can apply modern approaches to build inventive new solutions and products for this expanding client need.
What is the use of a CO2 incubator?
Carbon dioxide (CO2) incubators are used to grow important cell cultures in the most favourable conditions while also preventing the spread of contaminants. From a tiny capacity and volume cabinet to a big scale capacity cabinet, LUXMED offers a diverse selection of CO2 incubators. In order to decrease the risk of condensation in the present and the future, all CO2 incubators are built using the proprietary Water Jacket and Air Jacket systems that have been developed.
• It has a water tank to keep the humidity level in the chamber constant.
• Air jackets are fitted with a UV lamp for sterilisation, while water jackets are supplied with a HEPA filter for filtration.
• The incubator is equipped with a USB interface and an LCD display, allowing it to save data in real time.
• A high-grade CO2 gas filter is used to ensure that the interior gas is of high quality.
• Gas circuit valves of the SMC brand maintain a more stable CO2 concentration while using less CO2 gas in the process.
• A microcomputer controller with LED displays is also present for temperature, CO2 concentration, run-time, and timing information.
• The high-quality infrared sensor is used for precise CO2 concentration measurement.
• The working chamber is designed with a round angle structure that is simple to clean.
The employment of CO2 in incubators has also generated demand for quality, certified gases for these clinics and laboratories. With gases, comes the requirement for monitoring.
Why is CO2 needed in an incubator?
Humans are most comfortable at CO2 levels at or slightly above 400 ppm (0.04 percent ) which prompts the question, why would a CO2 incubator that is intended to cultivate tissue cultures need CO2 levels of 5 – 10 percent ?
In order to culture cells under ideal conditions, the media they grow in needs to be around neutral pH (about pH 7). (around pH 7). The H2O in the cells can be transformed into a carbonic acid (H2CO3) buffer by adding more CO2. The interaction of H2O and CO2 results in bicarbonate (HCO3-) and H2CO3 which keeps the pH neutral, and consequently has been proven to affect the proliferation of living cells the least. In other words, by supplying more CO2 at the proper level you prevent the pH inside the cells from becoming either alkaline or acidic, which both impede cell growth.
Maintaining CO2 Levels
CO2 levels within a CO2 incubator are detected with accurate optical nondispersive infra-red (NDIR) sensors. There are two considerations when utilising an NDIR CO2 sensor.
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Sensor measurements must be corrected for changes in barometric pressure in high-altitude situations.
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The sensor should be protected from excessive dampness. Too much moisture in the air might cause condensation inside the CO2 sensor, rendering it inoperable.
CO2 incubators have a variety of applications.
CO2 incubators are used to culture human skin cells in preparation for life-saving skin grafts.
Regenerative medicine is one of the most exciting areas of research in the modern era. By replenishing defective cells, it is possible to restore dead tissue and damaged organs. To accomplish this, the patient’s skin is taken, duplicated in a CO2 incubator, and then implanted back into the patient. This novel method of treatment is revolutionary for victims of severe burns, as it avoids the considerable scarring associated with typical transplanting techniques.
Using stem cell research to combat disease
Progress in stem cell research is critical for illness prevention and treatment, particularly cancer therapy. In vitro generated tissues can be utilised to mend or even replace damaged cells and organs in stem cell therapy. As such, stem cell research lays the groundwork for regenerative medicine. When handling cell cultures, sterile conditions and optimum safety are critical. As a result, your CO2 incubator should also include an auto-sterilization feature. This significantly decreases the possibility of external contamination.
Offering stem cell treatment as a realistic surgical alternative
Stem cell therapy, a sort of regenerative medicine, has revolutionised heart surgery research. Stem cell treatment is gaining ground on open-heart surgery. The procedure is as follows: tissue and cell clusters are cultured in a CO2 incubator and then transplanted into the patient via cell transplantation.
CO2 incubators are used in plastic surgery, anti-aging treatments, tissue healing, and dermatological procedures.
CO2 incubators are also critical tools in the development of customised autologous stem cell therapies. These therapies involve the preparation of the body’s own cells for use in cosmetic surgery, anti-aging therapies, tissue repair, and dermatological and orthopaedic treatments. Once the tissue has been retrieved, the stem cells are isolated. This carries a danger of contamination, which is why thorough sterility tests are conducted in the CO2 incubator where the cell cultures will subsequently multiply. Final genetic tests in the CO2 incubator guarantee that the cells are as safe as possible before being re-implanted into the patient.
