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Can I use vacuum aspiration to maintain cultures?
Yes. During media changes, keep the plate flat and use standard vacuum aspiration with a glass Pasteur pipette. If the aspiration speed is too fast, a P200 micropipette tip (no filter) can be attached to the Pasteur or a standard 2 mL aspirating pipette to reduce the flow rate.
The plate is designed to retain a small volume of media during aspiration. If additional media removal is needed, the plate can be gently tilted toward the side channel and aspiration repeated. Afterward, inspect the hydrogel layer, which should appear uniform, with edges positioned beneath the protected chamber lip.
A small amount of residual media may remain, which is acceptable. For experienced users, additional removal can be achieved by carefully placing the aspirating tip at the rim of the protected chamber and contacting the liquid.
This technique is effective for 6- and 24-well plates. In 96-well plates, higher surface tension typically results in a small droplet remaining on top of the hydrogel. We do not recommend removing this droplet, as doing so may disrupt the hydrogel structure.
