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Incubator: Medical Instruments Theory

The document discusses incubators, which are chambers that maintain optimal environmental conditions for growing organisms. Incubators control temperature, humidity, atmosphere, and other factors to simulate natural environments. They are used to incubate bacterial, viral, and cell cultures. Incubators vary in complexity but generally aim to control temperature, with some also regulating gases, humidity, and refrigeration. Common uses include growing microbiological samples as well as industrial hatching of poultry.

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127 views

Incubator: Medical Instruments Theory

The document discusses incubators, which are chambers that maintain optimal environmental conditions for growing organisms. Incubators control temperature, humidity, atmosphere, and other factors to simulate natural environments. They are used to incubate bacterial, viral, and cell cultures. Incubators vary in complexity but generally aim to control temperature, with some also regulating gases, humidity, and refrigeration. Common uses include growing microbiological samples as well as industrial hatching of poultry.

Uploaded by

Diary Jaf
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Medical instruments Theory Lecture 4

Incubator

The word incubator comes from the Latin word incubare which

means to brood. The incubator is designed as a chamber of

controlled temperature, atmosphere and humidity for the purpose of

maintaining live organisms in an environment suitable for their

growth. Among its most common uses are incubation of

bacteriological, viral, microbiological and cellular cultures;

determination of the biochemical demand for oxygen (BDO) and

biological storage. Incubators vary in complexity and design. Some

only control temperature while others control the atmospheric

composition as well. Some have the capacity to achieve temperature

conditions below room temperature with refrigeration systems.

Depending on the design and specifications, incubators control

temperatures from -10 °C and go up to 75 °C or slightly more. Some

incubators have CO2 injection for achieving special atmospheric

conditions at which the growth of diverse species of organisms and

cells is favoured. As most of the microbes pathogenic to man grow

profusely at body temperature of normal human being (i.e. 37°C), the

usual temperature of incubation is 37°C.

In biology, an incubator is a device used to grow and maintain

microbiological cultures or cell cultures. The incubator maintains

optimal temperature, humidity and other conditions such as the

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Medical instruments Theory Lecture 4

carbon dioxide (CO2) and oxygen content of the atmosphere inside.

Incubators are essential for a lot of experimental work in cell

biology, microbiology and molecular biology and are used to culture

both bacterial as well as eukaryotic cells.

Louis Pasteur used the small opening underneath his staircase as an

incubator. Incubators are also used in the poultry industry to act as

a substitute for hens. This often results in higher hatch rates due

to the ability to control both temperature and humidity. Various

brands of incubators are commercially available to breeders.

The simplest incubators are insulated boxes with an adjustable

heater, typically going up to 60 to 65 °C (140 to 150 °F), though

some can go slightly higher (generally to no more than 100 °C). The

most commonly used temperature both for bacteria such as the

frequently used E. coli as well as for mammalian cells is

approximately 37 °C (99 °F), as these organisms grow well under

such conditions. For other organisms used in biological experiments,

such as the budding yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae, a growth

temperature of 30 °C (86 °F) is optimal.

More elaborate incubators can also include the ability to lower the

temperature (via refrigeration), or the ability to control humidity or

CO2 levels. This is important in the cultivation of mammalian cells,

where the relative humidity is typically >80% to prevent evaporation

and a slightly acidic pH is achieved by maintaining a CO2 level of 5%.

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